KRI 713 Discourses On Kenopanishad Swami Chinmayanand

SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA

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BrV

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DISCOURSES ON

KENOPANISAD

by

SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA

CENTRAL CHINMAYA MISSION TRUST

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© Central Cfainmaya Mission Trust

First Edition —1952
Second Edition —1986 — 5000 copies
Reprint —1992 —1500 copies

Revised Edition —1993 — 6000 copies

Published by:

CENTRAL CHINMAYA MISSION TRUST

Sandeepany Sadhanalaya

Saki Vihar Road, Bombay-400 072.

Printed by:

Priya Graphics
A/203 Shree Ram Bhavan,
Malad Marve Road, Kharodi,
Bombay-400 095.

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CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

-- VEDANTA - The Religion Of Detachment
-- Our Relationship With The Absolute
- The Path
-- Law Of Karma
--The Upani$ad-s

CHAPTER I

The Teacher And The Taught
Self Purification
Sincere Pursuit
Chains That Shackle
The Seer
Mind Is Man

The Centre Of The Centre?

A Caution

CHAPTER II

Pure Truth
The Dream Mirage
Kill The Ego
The Goal
Now & Here

CHAPTER III

The Inner Essence

CHAPTER IV

Conditioned Brahman
Self-perfection Technique

APPENDIX I: RISE AND FALL OF MAN

1

6

12

15

26

33

41

53

58

64

70

76

82

86

89

97

103
107
I 14
120
127

130

132

142

146

159

168

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*

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TRANSLITERATION GUIDE FOR SAMSKRTA WORDS

a as o in son

3T*

r as r in Krsna

a as a in master

3TT( T )*

s as sh in shut

b as b in book

s as sh in show

\

c as ch in check

s as s in sit

%

d as d in father, then \

t as t in french sound

\

d as d in do

*

t as f in touch

z

*N

e as a in evade

u as « in full ^ C

.)*

g as g in good

ii as oo in boot ( e

0*

h as h in hard

*

v as w in want, avert

h as h in oh !

•

■

y as y in yak

i as / in if

?( f )*

ai as y in my ^ ( )*

I as ee in feel

i O)*

an as ow in now stt (T )*

j asyinjar

bh as bh in abhor

k as k in kite

ch as chh in catch him

I as l in Lord

dh as theh in breathe

m as m in man

dh as dh in godhood

rii as m in simple, hum ( )

gh as gh in ghost

n as n in nose

jh as dgeh in hedgehog

ii as n in monkey

kh as kh in khaki

fi as n in lunch

ph as ph in photo

n as n in under (hard) ^

th as th in thumb

o as o in over

(> )*

th as th in ant-hill

p as pin put

• as unwritten 'a' sound s

r as r in run

" as - do - 'aa sound

r as r in run v. dS '

Also letters i and r represent cj* and respecti\ely.

In sathskna, consonants represented with a stroke below eg- as in
pronounced except! n conjunction with a vowel marked * e.g. ^ (k) + ^{a) 4

signs (vtjarga A) and *“ 1 (anusvara) e*g^? 00 0)) " ^^ an ^ ^ ® +

Letters F. Q, W, X and 2 are not called to use.

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'h ■ ■

W* • » >. 4T. ||(

Ai >i a..

W'j If fry ^

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PREFACE

II is, quite often, contended that science and
religion are opposed to each other. The protagonists of
science and the so called ‘rationalists’ maintain that
religion is unscientific and superstitious. It Is surprising
that the man of science who is supposed to have an
intimate knowledge of the baffling universe should try to
maintain that the whole of the Reality and the Truth is
amenable to his methods.

An attempt is made in the following pages to show
that science and religion are not necessarily opposed to
each other. Religion, at its best. Is an attempt to inves¬
tigate a field which is not amenable to the method of
science. A man of religion is not necessarily opposed to
science. On the other hand, he also adopts the same
attitude of a scientist-- the attitude of experimentation,
observation and inference. The field of enquiry is different;
the nature of the problem to be investigated is different.
Therefore, it would be futile to expect the same instru¬
ments of science to be useful in this field. In the field of
religion the seeker after Truth adopts different methods of
experimentation, observation and inference.

It should be common place for any serious student
of science that all experience is not intellectual. Similarly,
all experience is not amenable to human language. The
science of Vedanta developed by those serious seekers of
Truth, the ancient Rsi-s of India, is based on these well
known facts. The Veddntin is fully convinced that the
whole of the Reality can neither be grasped by mere human

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KE NOPAN ISA D

intellect, nor can it be expressed through the limited
language of man. But he does not give vent to a cry or
despair. Being a serious student of the Truth he attempts
to experience the Truth by extra-intellectual and supra-
intellectual methods. As the whole of the human ex¬
perience cannot be expressed in Lhe imperfect instrument
of human language the Vedantin attempts to convey such
experience by suggestive and symbolic language.

The Upani$ad-s do not contain barren philosophic
hair-spliLLing. They are serious attempts to know the
Truth and to experience it. As observed before, the field of
investigation being different from the field of scientific
enquiry the methods of the Upanlsad-s are different. No
student of science can quarrel with the fact that he has to
use different Instruments in different fields of enquiry. A
student of social science cannot confine himself to the
laboratory and experiment with instruments he has there.
He ^ as to adopt a different approach and a different
method from the method of the physical scientist. In the
same way the student of the science of religion has to adopt
merent methods and techniques. The ancient Veda-s based
nrp in * luman knowledge, experience and revelation,
r °oth a technique and a hypothesis which Lhe
seeker of the Truth is expected to adopt

Thp iU/3r!l e Vec * a ' s . are mainly divided into three parts --
Brffhmnn^ a ' S ’ J 6 , Hymns ln P ralse of Vedic Gods, Lhe
after thn 'r S * ( V u^ 1C j P res< ^be the technic of the search

UDanicnH J Ut t, a ^i, the Arai W*arS (which contain the
Upanlsad-s) which illustrate and suggest the Reality.

the emiinmpnf 116 of Lhe basic Presumptions of the Vedanta,
h . ^ P en .necessary for an experiment of truth and the
1 tv _f® uni Pbon contained in the Hindu philosophy are
!^., Ln< L m Lhe introduction. The other part contains Lhe text
° Ke ™P ani $ad with suitable explanations. The subject
matter of Lhe kenopcini$ad is Em enquiry into the nature of
Reality (Brahman). The language adopted by the
Kenopanisad necessarily had to be a suggestive language.
The Kenopanisad suggests the nature of the Reality and the
pre-conditions for experiencing It. The Upanisad-s do not
profess to bring the Reality to the experience of the seeker

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but. the high speculation of the Upanisad-s suggest the
nature of the Truth and set the seeker to persue it. It
depends on the seeker whether he realises the Absolute
Truth or not. The Upcini$ad-s do not make dogmatic asser¬
tions but they initiate the seeker to the Truth which he is
expected to realize by following the technique prescribed. If
this is not a scientific approach what*else could it be?

Publishers

Preface to the 2nd Edition

In this Edition, diacritical marks are used foi
Transliteration of Sariiskrt words in the Mantra-s and
commentary, Non-English words have been Italicised.
This will help readers to identify and Pronounce the woi els
correctly. For easier reading, lines in Mantra-s, are spli
and re-arranged.

The English plural Sign ‘S’ has been added to
untranslated Sariiskrt words after a hyphen (-) to show
that it is not elemental to the word e.g. Mantra- s. Veaa-s,
Rsi'-s etc.

A key to the Transliteration and Pronunciation has
been added in the beginning of the book.

19 / 5/93

Publisher

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INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS RELIGION?

Religion is a privilege of man and not an in¬
stinct of animals. To the animal, life is one round of
eating, sleeping and mating. Man, even when he has food,
shelter, clothing and recreation, does not feel satisfied.
He yearns for a greater purpose in life. So long as he has
not these minimum necessities of life-food, shelter,
clothing and recreation--his entire personality sdives for
them. But once these are satisfied, he sits back as it were
to listen to the muffled voice of enquiry from within.

These questionings and innermost cravings of
the soul come only to a full-grown man. I mean, even
among the bipeds we can recognize the animals; we have
among us tigers, wolves, deer, serpents, scorpions, etc.
Such men. who are lowly evolved fall to listen to the
doubts and despairs of the soul-quest from within.
Having no such inner voiceless-woe, they need no
remedy.

But to one who has evolved himself into a
full-grown man, such cravings of (lie soul flood his being
and push him incessantly towards the limit of his under¬
standings and feelings. In the unrest of the soul lie comes
to despair at tire wonder and majesty of the most intimate
fact with him—Life. The questions he asks himself are:
Where did 1 come from? Where do I go? Why have 1 come?
Is life an empty and meaningless incident? Has life a
purpose? Is there a mission in life?

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2

kenopanisad

Only a full-grown man, who has lived his days’
experiences intelligently and has throughout kept an
alert critical attention upon the incidents of life, can
attain an inner'maturity in which'he comes to feel the
"Soul’s unrest". Religion is addressed to such an in¬
dividual, Religion explains, assures and guides him. It
lends a purpose to his day-to-day existence, far more
divine and nobler than mere eating, drinking, sleeping,
laughing and weeping. .

Every true Religion contains two important
limbs:-(i) the ritualistic injunctions, and (ii) philosophical
suggestions. The former alone is accepted generally as
Religion (rituals, formalities, etc.) Religion without
philosophy is superstition, and philosophy without
re igion is barren. Both must go hand in hand. Philosophy
rC ?^ ces ex ternal practices of rituals and formalities
an blesses them with a purpose and an aim. Together
iney bring out the significance of Religion.

, Religion, in its full significance, has for its

nm nr? n ViVi ? discussi °n upon the Goal of Life and its
„ 118 a ; so a description of an elaborate system of

eon ei! P ractice f d _y pursuing which men of all degrees

n jl(, r i ' ! on ? dleir present status of evolution, on the
pilgrimage to the Goal held out.

Truth i fe ^anta deals vividly and elaborately with
personal pvn^ USS)0nS f based upon the intimate and
elusion ihaMh ienCe o °* the Seers - bring us to the con-
man bv r P m? ^ ++ ® u P renie is in man himself and that
ahniithus™ ving certain of his misunderstandings

self as the R? K can succee d in recognizing him-

seli as the Eter nal. All-pervading'Truth. All true Religions

i H * § ° le despairing man, struggling against his own
bondages and limitations in life, .the comfort and solace
he needs so badly.

Figuratively it is something like this: a man
who has temporarily lost his memory stands out upon the
terrace of his own house and despairs at the gathering
darkness and the descending chill of the wintry night. He
suffers agonies. He weeps. He sighs. He feels helpless and

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INTRODUCTION

3

besieged by pain and sorrow. But a lew yards behind I dm
is the balcony window, kept hall-open, through which he
could see his own warm home where his bed is kepi, ready,
his dinner is laid and his beloved is waiting with all
devotion and love. He has only to turn around to see die
welcoming, comforting, inviting sight of his own luxurious
home of sweetness and joy. At will he can walk in and
claim all the bliss as his own birthright.

Similarly, man stands on the open terrace of
life looking outward into the deepening darkness and
suffers from cold and loneliness. His own beloved
Religion, invitingly bids him to come in. It reminds him
of the discomforts on die terrace and appeals to him to
turn back. "Renounce the terrace and walk into the lit-up
Halls of Joy within where 1 shall attend to your every
comfort." cries Religion. But the mad master of the house
hears not the call of Religion.

The remedy is simple. We have only to tin n
inwards. As it is, our entire attention is focussed on the
external material world and we seek there joy and peace.
Naturally we miss them. The finite external objects can¬
not. by tlieir very nature, yield for us our demand whic
is in fact an Eternal Joy-a Blissful satisfaction that s ia
be for ever with us. Such a complete Ancuida cind ban i
cannot be had out there. They can be had only iere
within each individual. 'Turn within! Right about- uni
and you are face to face with what you are seeking, is
the saintly advice unanimously voiced forth by ait _
great Religions of the world. And, "It is true; It is hue,
is true;" is the repeated endorsement that comes to us
from all the mystics and Masters.

The external world sense-objects has-no real
joy content. It seems to give us now and then a little joy.
but this very sweetness soon gets putrefied to sourness
and bitterness, in everyone's experience all circumstan
ces have in themselves an atmosphere ol sorrow.

Religion promises no magical change in the
nature of the sense- objects or in the pattern ol iheii
arrangei9fePi^ s W^P^S t H^ t tf^M^^e®!‘rfrhe world

4

KENOPANISAD

will remain and the nature of circumstances will continue
to function according to the Eternal Law. Religion enables
the faithful only to face life with greater liveliness, and
lends a psychological balance and a spiritual poise to the
individual.

The external ’ world of objects remains the
aa f? e ’ on ^ the experiences provided by it are different in
dnterent individuals. For example, a father lives with his
wiie and two sons under the same roof. They eat the same
oo .cooked in the same Idle hen, listen to the same radio,
™k-i sin § ^ * a ugh under the same ceiling fan. But
lnnrh together one Sunday afternoon after

Hiffin ,,’ifr at 1S Lbe ex P erience of each? It cannot be very
certaink ° r flu" 0116 us t0 ^ now that the ‘experience’ is
famtu? saaie wi th all the members of that happy

remain m ie ex P erie nces are different while the objects

we ha vp =. e S ^ ie ‘ w hat is the cause for this variety? Can
w e nave a uniform experience?

periencp? iT h I S b f n S s us t0 the question - What is ex-
mind nnH i f ™P ressi on left on one when one's

objects! onH* 1 e , ect: co . me * n contact witli an object (or
place? Thp react with it (or them) at a given time and

the same minr/n °^rr Ct Can give different experiences to
or in a chanerpH J 1 different occasions, in different places
experiences^ But one common factor in all

the world- of-objects^ muSt bave our m *nds reacting to

function and JJav worl d-of-objects remains,

which we have l^ f° liCS Wording to a Law over
come-in contact* with r? y n ? aontro1 - But objects must

reacuen. w^h Iner^edc°f1.T *° produCe

way^thafthp 311 C0nt '; 01, tra ‘ n and cultu ™ Sr mMsin a
and “1 7 reaCt posltivel y to all sets of objects

would aHhei •, 01 circumstances. then our reactions
would all be positive. Happ.ness and peace is his who has

thus trained his mind to react positively’ to Lhe world

) - Bliss

2, Peace

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INTRODUCTION

5

outside. The outer world remaining the same, in this very
world of imperfections and sorrows, we shall have an
unbroken experience of sweet solace and full content¬
ment. We shall gain i n ou rselves a capaciLy to remain aloof
in a safe island within and watch the fierce storms of
passions that madly blast about all around us. We shall
learn to witness in a glorious sense of inner freedom and
detachment the very tears and sobs in us. and if we be
but true followers of Religion, gain through its practices
a mental equipment which can seek for itself and gain
poise and balance under all circumstances.

Thus understanding the real function of
Religion and the secret scheme of its blessings, we can
approach it with the certainty of gain. What greater gift
we can expect of any institution than a hearty presenta¬
tion of the Philosopher’s Stone, which by its touch can
convert all sorrows into joy,all failures into success and
losses into gains? A truely devoted heart does not go mad
with power, become boastful with success, commit
suicide at failures, murder in anger, suffer in jealousy,
grow arrogant in wealth and despair in poverty. Under all
conditions he is unmoved, unagitated. His heart is an
ocean of peace (!$anti), rest (Samadhdna) and joy (SukhaJ.

Such a one among us mortals is a God man. He
is a saint, a Mafiatma, a prophet. Such were all our great
masters and such are all true men of Religion. Religion
promises us a world peopled with a generation of Sri
Ramalcr$oa-s, Vivekananda-s, Sarikara-s, Buddha-s.
Christ-s and Mohamad-s. What more do we need?

The paths advocated by all Religions are the
same - renounce the false ego and its consequent varia¬
tions. The sorrows and size belong to the ego-phantom.
Surrender it at the Lords feet in love. Sublimate the ego
in constant utcar 1 . In your discrimination of the real and
unreal, the false ego-dream ends. Divinise the ego
through an inner revolution brought about by the ending
of all the negativities In your character and by surcharg¬
ing yourself with the dynamic positive values of a true

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6

KENOPANISAD

Religion claims that our real nature is pure
Knowledge, pure Bliss. But the sense of ego has created
in us the grievous misunderstanding that we are the
ego-entities. Whether we like it or not through a slow
process of evolution we. are every hour creeping towards
nis goal of Sell-realisation. Life’s experiences are wearing

qnH rmi- in ,u s l ow ™ in of sorrow only to make us sit up
ise the foolish delusion in which we have to suffer.

guides us to&soi*e&edg^ 1 * “““ S ’ nCe “

VEDANTA

the religion of detachment

ff^hoponisod Ur /i 110St im P ortant Upani^ad-s, the
the very portico of n V fi , the j tory of an as P ir ant reaching
the seeker enouirp e ^’ 911 ^ there face to face with Him,
must be the spirit crffh?!* ^ S ^ preme knowledge. This
Death are in renlmr e ^ rue student of Vedanta. Life and
even difficult to hL° C 0S , e j°g eLher that it is ordinarily

courage to conunuete^ betweerl T ° huce the

To a seeker, if he be honestTn ? after death is real llving '
death. ' onest and persevering, there is no

Sastra-s declare thof ^ lat we con sider, and our

tions and Prophets fft* 8 - Sa ^ es ’ ^carna-

the sense that they underetooriUH^^ are immortal in
lived that meaning of11% Tht the , mean ! n g oflife and
perished yet they lfve!H™ Jthis p P & b ° d,es hava

Let me explain this, An ant living in a salt-hill
met a friend of his from a sugar-mill. The fat corpulant,

1 - Reflection -

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INTRODUCTION

7

cheerful sugar-mill aiiL enquired in sympathy and
friendship ii there was famine in the salt-hill, for the latter
was thin, emaciated and melancholy. During the meeting
if was decided that the salt-hill ant should visit the home
of a fat friend from the sugar-mill. While packing lor the
trip to the sugar-mill, the salt-hill ant carried a few days
ration with it. Even after a couple of days stay in the
mount of sugar the salt-hill ant looiced all the moie
depressed and unhappy. His host was anxious and wor-
ried. On enquiry for the cause of his depression, (he
salt-hill ant replied, "friend, there is every comfort here.
But the taste of your food does not suit me . It was a
shocking surprise to the host. "If sugar which j s ,f, , u
sweetness Is not sweet to the friend" he wondered what else
can taste sweet for him?" On closer enquiry it was s
covered that the salt-hill ant had still some salt bits in his
mouth! He was. however, persuaded to spit ttwm out
then lot the very same sugar which was not sv eet
became the sweetest thing the salt-hill ant
tasted!

We are all in life acting and suffering as frue
salt-hill ants. 'Spit out the saline contents of^ the:
then taste the Sugar of the Divine life which s nothing
but sweetness. End all thy fears, limitations. PP , ,
merits and come to enjoy the joyous, unlimi - P r-
exisLencef This is die call of the Vedanta, *f?eUgLon o
Detachment. Detach yourselves from the salt bits and y
shall come to taste the Mount of Sugar.

There are in us two distinct personalities, the

God and the Man. The birthright of manhood is m

experiences of limitations and death. In 1 s ry_

Godhood is unlimited and Immortal. Our attactae

the false negativities in us - the manhood - is the cau
of all the salt-hill ant melancholia. Detach- you _
the manhood, you regain Godhood. This is ie -
Vedanta, and Upanisad- s. Jndnci Ycijna is an attempt 10
convince ourselves that by ending the man in us w go
the God within. If there be an enemy concealed m us. w t
is the cause of our imbecilities and sorrows, the soonei
we unearth and destroy him the earlier we shall come o

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8

KEN0PAN1$AD

realise our aim. Who is then this enemy? Unanimously all
the Sastra-s and Scriptures ciy: "It is the ego." "Kill this
ittle to live." "End the ego and end the woe."

, e S°. in us is the Samsarln, If ego is the

01 ' ^ e §° is the enemy, let us spy on him more
„ n „ n / ajl comf ; to know who he is. Once we know our
enemy, we can plan our war against him.

voursplf- -whS °Jj°^ now P lease ask Lhis question to
in mp 1 ?" te n <°n!f ^ 1!S: w hat constitutes this ego-sense
the memoripL r e Personality in each of us nothing but
as I am fhp ° cer ^ an tacts of life lived in the past such
hated^ taijoht S °f 1 . S °' an ^’ S0, e ducated, lived, loved,
all the re Lamp ? tC ” etc ‘? In skort - 1 am the sum- total of
have iv-mt ■ ,, mern ories ol all the vivid experiences I

hopes for the fhtu?e. St ' ^ J ' COncept includes, also, my

analysis n rthp Uin ^ ° Ur ea q uir y further, we shall, on
that they have n !!] em0ry , bitS and hope-flakes, discover
dead past or thp Y k real i- ty with referen ce either to the

me has no exiJtenci ■nTv 1 fUtUre - That meailS 1)16 e §°
the burial ernn^H rS present moment; it thrives in
time. 0 dead hours and in the womb of

tity, a dream ^iT’i ? 11S t e ®°’ is in fact a myth, a non-en-
mere false shadow ’aU iS f* 10 * 1 n0thing ’ a phantom, a
to Lhis shadow nf o Lh sorrow mid mortality belong
thoughtlessness LT ° Wn ReaJity ' in our own
endless tyranny’of thi rrenc{ , ere d ourselves to the
ourselves, "Dehrh vn . s iadow ol ours lurking witliin

Real self. Kill the bmanfwi !f° m thi ® shadow. Know thy
Ramardiua 1 in um? \ 1!n us - will bring the real

vS y boaoms -" Thia is the Clarion call of

The methods of eliminating this ghost within
us are the processes advocated by all religions Everv

fhi'f sh a nH P f a " attem P‘ at the totaI ellmlnaUon of

this shadow-nothingness within us. All Sastra-s serve

only to teach us the Lirv'G&lity ol the no/i-ejcistcrit.

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INTRODUCTION

9

It Is by a process of superimposition that the
unreal has come to veil the Real. Superimposition is a
mental trick, a jugglery of our minds, by which it comes
to misunderstand a thing to be something different from
what it is in reality. The famous example is of the serpent
and the rope. In the darkness a man mistakes a rope for
a serpent and suffers from the false agonies of a "snake¬
bite". Any amount of assurance that it is not a serpent
but is in fact only a rope, given to the "deluded" sufferer
will not comfort him. He will have to be led to the place
and shown the rope. The moment he recognises the rope,
the "myth of the serpent that bit him” disappears.

The ‘Serpent* idea rose only in his mind. The
serpent born in his mind was removed when the
knowledge of the rope dawned upon him. The ‘Serpent*
rose from his ignorance of the rope, and when this ig¬
norance is removed by knowledge, the serpent, born of
ignorance, is also removed. So too, in our ignorance of
our own reality we have the superimposition in ourselves,
of the ego. The ego is ended with the Knowledge of the Self
in us. As the knowledge of the rope ended the agonies of
the ‘deluded’ victim, so too with the Knowledge of the Self,
tire painful agonies of the ego (Jwaj end. Detach the ego,
and claim Santl which is our essential nature.

The ego in us is but a bundle of memories of
our experiences lived by us in the past and our hopes to
be fulfilled by us in the future. Without reference to these
two, the dead past and the unborn future, if we live vitally
and dynamically, the present moments in themselves, we
have achieved the annihilation of the ego. The Self, living
in full detachment from ego. in the Self as the Self, is the
Scimddhi state advocated and claimed by all the different
Yogas as their sole and sublime goal. All Yoga-s end in
eliminating the ego in the Sddhafca-s 1 . The Yoga-s advo¬
cate different methods to suit different temperaments, yet
their aim is the same--Self-realisation.

1. - The Kingdom of Perfection

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10

KENOPANISAD

We shall now analyse one or two paths of Yoga
and examine how they succeed in bringing about this
annihilation of the ego in the Yog in 2 . "Act without any
expectations of the ‘fruits’ of action and thy achievements
shall be supreme," is the injuction of Gita. Readers su¬
perficially glancing at this idea might wonder how this
can be practicable.

Let us examine this theory in application and
see if it can be practical. Suppose we have an agent who
has an appointment with an industrial magnate to strike
a business deal for lakhs of rupees, and whereby he
stands to gain a substantial commission. If the day before
the appointment, the poor agent allows himself to be
hypnotised by his own expectations, if he dreams of the
amounts he would be getting, the ways in which he would
c , } e income in purchasing a house, in marrying the
0 1 choice. in living happily ....etc., etc., he would
annnint^H f ® reaL los e r - For, on the appointed day, at the
nf Thp k • 10ur ' w * ien the agent enters the drawing room
o the business magnate, his mental faculties - alertness,

darity 311 d P oise ' which are so essential in

dried un in hin a u SL u CeS , sfu l a § ent - would ^ be totally
already livino 1 h C laS dy Lden ima g -Ln ed himself to be
acquired from th h -' S neW house with his new wife, etc.,
sibilitv of imini 'V incom e ofhis transaction. The respon-
shackles f h nmn T and P rotectin g this hope for ‘fruits’
trembles a Th,\S uch , atron g bondages of fears’ that he
possible fall out Jahf U ° ! ' n . ot realising them through a
and tremblinu hp l i t le capitalist. Nerve-shattered, pale
him and in hL aters the room, carrying a storm within

he r ° rgetS half 0le P° ints he had
result?hattheb Jiness C i“ost SS Convlncln S 1 y' wlth

circu™stt“^™vStre^,irhe n 1 sTnL h , e

ligent enough to reject the anxieties for the fruits’ and not
to indulge in futile dreams over them, and acts with ease

]. “Aspirants " "" ~

2. - One who practices Yoga

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INTRODUCTION

II

and poise. He is jovial and almost cheeky with the busi¬
ness magnate who is attracted and charmed by the young
man's dash and smartness. The bargain is struck with
hearty hand-shakes and pleasant smiles.

If renunciation of attachment to ‘fruits' is a
guarantee for sure success in the market-place bargain¬
ings, how much more so it must be in all the nobler and
greater tietds ot man’s social and national activities?
Rejecting the 'fruits’, act. Let us not waste our faculties
and potentialities in worrying over the unborn future. Act
on. Act on, in the living present.

But this is not so readily possible unless we
have a strong faith in the understanding that Lord is the
real conductor and die accomplisher. We are actors in His
drama. We are His servants executing His Will in the
fulfilment of His plans. 'The fruits" are His and ours is
only the action. And lire more we get aligned with Him,
the more shall our actions be in line with His Will, and
thereby we shall be fulfilling His plans more effectively.

Thus by continuously surrendering to His Will
and living as His Instrument we come to forget the false
ego in us. When once the ego (the man) has ended its
career, what remains is the intimate personal experience
of the divinity in us. Rail flat at His Feet in love and
surrender. When the ego-sense is thus offered at His Feet,
the mortal limitations end arid the Bhakta 1 who has done
thus a full and complete Atma-Arpagam 2 becomes the
Lord.

Ail Yoga-s aim at the extinction of the ego-
sense in the Yogin. When the sense of Jlua-hood ends, the
sense of Godhood begins. Recognise! Re-see! Let us come
to remember our own Real Nature. Let us stop dreaming
with such ideas as "I am poor", "I am a mortal, 1 am
rich". "I am wise", "1 am a Samsdriri' 3 , etc.

1. - Devotee

2. - Sell'Surrender

3* - Worldly

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KENOPANISAD

The one way lq end Lhe shadow in front of ns
is to turn our gaze towards Lite Light within. If we cannot
all of a sudden do so, let us then do the easier act of
self-surrender. The taller we are. Lhe longer shall be our
shadow. Bend double, the shadow is half. Sit down, the
shadow is still smaller. Fall Hat at His Feet in love and

fn r ? n n en and , Lhe shadow is no more. End the shadow
in us, this ego, by surrendering unto Him. Hie Atmcm, Lhe

iHo U ?V De,ach ble b dse ego from die true Self. Detach
f V 1 ? , rom memories and hopes. Cleanse your bosom
FoniLl?-f ireS ' ^eslndessness is the State of Perfection.
P® I Lhe state of God hood. Attain this Supreme

Doal of life through knowledge and right living

OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ABSOLUTE

identification wl^thl^rCa m . an J his bod > ,r is him self. His
for the bodv str U r b ° Cy 1S dee P and strong. He lives

mission in fife than sr!°^ tHe b ° dy ’ and knows no ether
such a low levpj 4 " er f suous Joys. To such a one, living

Could have With the Ah-fTT 6 ’ ^ ,° nly relationshi P h e

ness and slavery S0 uLe musL be one of sepcwalive-

slightly grownup and L hn tl0Lher daSS ° f men who have
are not only the j aV f “l 0111 * 5 t0 recognise that they

mind and intellect q a so cre aLures endowed with

recognise the cxFIpT* men ’ have, therefore, come to
psychological person ihi- e - anC Lbe w °rkings of Lhe
not merely their bodies Llem ‘ To Lhem - Lh ey being

Lual worm but is a sarrpH 1S n ° L a P erish able ineffec-
godly powers evident in Line mnnt'" 6 , possessin g, almost
and the intellect. They n^ 10 " 3 ° f tde mind

and poetry: they recoanise The th ac nevemfi nLs of science

^ W'«mo saxKsrs

tl^rMan^ ^th^l 1 ^ NatUre and C ° nie Lo Lhe conclusion
that Man.as a thinking creature, who has a glory and a

nughf , is not much inferior Lo the Gods. Thus, to men of

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CHAPTER!

J 3

this degree of development their relationship with the
Absolute is that they are a port of the whole.

Based on the above concept of die Lwo classes
of men, we have in our philosophy two views of life and
approaches to Truth: die Dj,ialism of SdMadhvacajya and
the Qualified Monism of Sri Ramanuja. The former con¬
cludes that the Lord and his Devotee would ever remain
as two distinct entities and die relationship of die Devotee
to the Lord is one of complete surrender in love and
reverence. The Supreme Goal of Man is in reaching His
feel and Eternally remaining there ever in His Seva, The
latter, however, argues in a different line and arrives at
the conclusion that die Devotee is a part of the Whole,
the Lord.

it is only in die daring declarations of a Perfect
Philosophy. Lhe philosophy that discusses die vital and
fmal experience of man in Lhe realms of the spiritual, the
Vedanta , that we find an unequivocal emphatic declara¬
tion that "Man is God.” To a student of Dualism, and
Qualified Monism this may appear fantastic, for the
former views Truth with reference to his body, while the
latter views Truth from Lhe psychological personality.

The perfect student of Vedanta has reached tl ie
Master after discovering in his descrim ination dial
neither his body nor his psychological personality can be
sufficiently sacred and divine as to satisfy himself. He has
come to feel that some power subtler than the mind and
the intellect is playing hide-and-seek with in him, and that

it is really the dynamic Life Centre which vitalise the other
coatings of matter that come to envelope and hide it. The
Guru 1 endorses the disciple’s vague and accidental con¬
clusions. The Vedcintic Seer provides the disciple with
arguments and convictions and leads him to this Seat of
Life, the Self, that lies within the seeker himself. When
the disciple comes to understand fully the depth and
significance to lhe Guru's mystical words and comes
vitally and intensely to first hand experience the Great
Grand Truth that he is 'T HAT', he gains Perfect
Knowledge.

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KENOPANISAD

To such a one iu his perfecLion he is but That.
As Thai he has once for all dropped all his wrong iden¬
tifications with his body or his psychological entity. He
becomes pure Spirit, and as Spirit his relationship with
the Absolute is one of perfect identity, there cannot be
perfect relationship, as "relationship" denotes the exist¬
ence of atleast a pair of things. Though the Veddntic
student sought Truth within himself, yet in his discovery
of it as though in his own bosom, he experiences himself as
tlte Whole. This type of student is served by the School of
Philosophy called Non-Dualism of Sahkwa. These three
cinds of our relatioships with Truth have been beautifully
a escribed in _Ramdyapa when Hanuma a the greatest
evolee of Sri Ramacancb'a explains his relationship with
SaRamacandj-a.

Hanwnan says, "O Lord, at moments when I
t in m y body conciousness I am thy slave: when

/ nrn^n 7 minc ^ an ^ intellect, i.e,, as a Jiua,

anc ^ when I am in my SocuTipa, that is
thp .K.i? 11 : 1 ' ^ wn Thyself ■ Thus our relationship with
orroi-H- rt U , e Can explained in three different ways
moment? ? ° UI " State of sel hconciousness. There are
sorrows 7rn| 1Gn ,- eV ? n the § reatest Seer is concious of the
weather At? yS vf ^ pairis and ev en of the inclemencies of
His feel nnH Ch < m n mentS even a falls prostrate at
are moments wh^ 7 S6eks the merc y of the Lord. There
agitation or irreJTl-K? iS concious °f some inner mental
tual fight and 1S ^, e P oe hc outburst or high intellec-

power almSt ern C ° g ? 1SeS Within himself a might and a
those rare moment! ru t0 t ^ ie L° r d- It is only in

he has mmnletei S ? ?* ias P eace in Samadhl when

the irntter lo the s^tT^t 1116 false outer covering of

, a d e f to the Subtlest of the Sub tie Spirit within, that

cr ‘ es fo r«] "Sn-tort- ’^iuoham". "lam

Pe^ctW^ * and 1116 AbS0 ' Ute 0«

It must also be clear to you that all three
schools of Hindu Philosophy are not competing and con-

J - Master

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INTRODUCTION

15

tradicling theories, but that each explains a necessary
stage we must pass through in our slow pilgrimage to the
Peak of Perfection. It is only intellectual Pundit-s who
quarrel and seek to establish one or the other declaration
and light over them. In fact, the moment we step on to
the Path of Spiritual Sadhandwe realise that these three
are three way-side inns for spiritual pilgrims to rest and
proceed ahead. Every pilgrim must first visit Madhava ,
from where he proceeds to worship Ramanuja and then
alone can he reach the portals of Vedanta and recognise
himself to be no other than Sri Sankara himself.

Let us, therefore, stop our quarrels. Let us act.
Let us embark on the pilgrimage, and see for ourselves
what is our relationship with the Absolute.

THE PATH

We start today the study of Upanisad-s. The
study is called Brahma VidydJust as various branches
of knowledge (similar to Physics, Chemistry. Geography,
etc.) are the themes of our different studies, this is also
a branch of knowledge and it too has a special name,
which is Bralvna Vidya. The only difference between
Brahma Viclya and the other subjects of study is tha
Brahma Vidya is the Vidya of all the Vidya-s: it is the science
of all sciences. The theme of Bralvna Vidya explains other
Sciences.

Brahma Vidya teaches us That which is the
goal of all sciences. In Chemistry we carry out experi¬
ments in order to find out the element, the source oi a
other elements. If we once find out such an element m
nature, out of which we can create all other elements in
the world, then there is no more research in Chemistr y.
Thereafter, the role of research in Chemistry would be
only to find out what are the reactions oi the various
combinations. Once we reach the "Element", the "Eternal
Element", the first and the last Element, out oi which all

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16

KENOPANJSAD

other elements have come, and in which all elements stay,
we have found out all that is to be discovered in
Chemistry.

We are here to seek the source all life - the One
Reality. We shall be satisfied with the Truth, from which
the World and our experiences have risen up, and in
which they exist and into which our experiences of the
life,from moment to moment, get merged in. It is the
fundamental substratum, the foundation, the Reality
behind the seeming appearances. We are seeking the
Goal, the one single Goal, which can explain not only the
poverty of the poor, but also the wealth and the might of
the rich and the powerful. It explains not merely the
workings of the senses and emotions but also the total
experience of life. It explains not merely the physical body
and the forms we see around us, but also how the mind
works and with what potency it functions. Thus, we are
nying to deive deeper and deeper into the very source of

no 1 US ' Seekin § Truth, we go from the gross to the
subtlest. From the gross external world we are slowly and
carefully g°i n g into the centre which is very subtle. The
subtler the theme, the more difficult it would be to explain
i and equally so, for the listeners to understand. Our
enqu ry, then, shall be fruitful only if we adopt a very

systematic method.

It is not haphazard conclusions that are given
to us in Upanisad-s by some unknown R§i-s. The
conclusions In the Upanisad-s are not dictatorial orders
gw* 11 ®*- “Ponus to believe that there is a Supreme Reality.

f fui ^ us go step by step into the very portals
°l ^ ru ^ 1 ' They teach us how to turn the key, open
the doors and enter the Temple of Truth.

It is no easy task to explain the Inexplicable. It
is only the gross objects that can be expressed and
explained in words. In the UpanL$ad-s, the Masters at¬
tempt to show us the Reality only through the significance
of words. We should not go to the Upani§ad-s with the
idea that we shall grasp Brahma Vidya with our mind and

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INTRODUCTION

17

intellect. Mind and intellect are only two 'shoes’ that we
may wear, but at the Doors of the Mightiest of the Mighty,
we will have to keep them away, we shall walk in and
reach the Portals of God with bare feet. At His doors we
leave diem and enter in all reverence. Thus, we will have
to progress in stages in our study, and hence, if we come
here with the boastful attitude of a collegian, we may miss
the exact import of Vedanta- We will have to come
prepared with the mind and an intellect sharpened and
trained to work for a higher purpose.

Truth is not a Factor thrust upon us. There is
no force used at all.It is through logical reasoning and
analysis of the values of the external world and its
conditions that we slowly get away from the false sense-
objects, step by step, and ultimately reach the Real.
Generally, there is a feeling that the spiritual life of
God-seeking is meant for those persons who are physi¬
cally deformed or mentally hysterical or intellectually
abnormal, or for those persons who in life are ridden with
disappointments and disastrous calamities. When we fail
in life, we run frantically to Religion. There is a general
belief that Religion is an open door for all the scum or
society. This is absurd. Those who hold such views know
not what Religion is. Religion is not for the unworthy,
unintelligent and the abnormal. Religion is for the most
level-headed and balanced men - spiritually, psychologi¬
cally and physically sound men.

Cowards cannot, progress in spiritual life.
Spiritual life is meant for those persons who enjoy good
health and have a healthy physical equipment. It is meant
for that man who is alert in mind and intellect, and who
has a deep 'craving for the soul’. Only such thirsty
full-blossomed human beings who have lived life fully can
come to ‘Vau'agya or detachment.

Now before going into the study oi the
Upanisad-s , I shall discuss some of the general topics
which are necessary for he right understanding of the
Upanisadic text-books. In all sciences, we have certain

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18

KENOPANISAD

fundamentals to be learnt first, and then only can the
students understand the experiments conducted and the
conclusions arrived at. Similarly we too shall first go
through some of the Vedanta Praki-iya-s, some of the
fundamental principles of Vedanta which have been
reduced into laws and upon which the entire Ve dan ta the
Science of Truth Is built up.

As in every branch of study, the student of
Brahma Vidya also must have certain preliminary
qualifications if he is to enter the Vedanta Hall, to hear
the discourses with benefit, and profit by them. This is
nothing new. But when it is put under the grave term,
Sadhana Catustaya' - (the four qualifications necessary
fora student) we are apt to feel surprised and uncomfort¬
able. On a little closer analysis we shall find that we all,
already, have these qualifications.

The "Four qualifications" necessary are:

(1) Viueka or a capacity to discriminate the real
iom tlie unreal, the true from the false, the object from
its shadow. Who has not got this? We may not have it
playing in the higher Realms of Thought, but we all have
is faculty of discrimination. We are not mere worms and
ammais. We are a cultured society of young people who
can apply their power of discrimination in everyday life.

min a .K- P> Wijrapya or detachment is a quality of the
, 71 n ri u . 1 ' cl1 enables one to get detached from the false
' , <nn V; ^ings. Do not be frightened away with false

Vn Va ?'W L Who among us has not got
1 a ^ ie in t e hect has come to a sure and
! Ending, and is, consequently, fully aware

a given thing is but a shadow and a valueless paltry
nothing, the mind naturally gets detached from it. Intel¬
lectual conviction of the truth and the desirability of
things are pre-requisites,absolutely necessary for the
mental attachment for those things. For example. If in a
dream you get married to a lovely lady, on waking you
cannot maintain your love or attachment for her. The
moment you are awake you realise the falsehood of the

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INTRODUCTION

19

dream-love, and so your mind rolls off from the lady of
the dream. The detachment gained as a result of a
knowledge of the untrue nature of the object is Vairagya.
And he who has Vau'dgya is a fit student of Vedanta.

This faculty for dispassion is in man and the
Sruti-s make use of it. Gradually the untrue nature of the
world is realised by a keen student of the Srutvs, and then
dispassion in him becomes natural and intense. The
function of the Upanisad-s is not merely a negative one:
one of removing us from the world. It also opens up lor
our view a Greater World of Perfection to be achieved.

The two other necessary qualifications to enter
this Yqjna- University are noble qualities of head and
heart Sddhnna Sajnpat and a burning yearning to be¬
come Perfect and Powerful (Mumuksutva).

What is there that we cannot realise?

A fit student of Vedanta would start his en¬
quiries by asking from where the world had come and
where will it go. When once we understand the outei
world, our enquiry shall be about our body, the five
sense-organs (the Indj'iya-s). Step by step the seeker
slowly comes to the Centre within himself from the outei
world. To a man born blind there is no ‘form’. To a deal
man it would appear that the cannon is only fuming but
not roaring. In order to enjoy tastes and smells one needs
the tongue and the nose; in their absence his world shall
be without any taste or smell. Thus if we take away the
five Incbiya-s there is no world at all for us. The world
would appear as an existent nothing! Our conception o
the outer world is gained through our Incb'iya-s.

Next the enquirer comes to enquire how his
mind works, how his intellect functions, and from where
the Joy-element bubbles forth in him. Thus, seeking on,
from the gross outer world to subtler and still subtler
inner Spirit, he moves in the world. In Vedanta each of
these grosser external coatings is called a 'Sheath' 1 (Ko£a),
and just as the sheath merely encases the sword-blade,
here Loo the Reality within is untouched by the matter

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20

KEN O PAN 1 SAD

covering it. Our body forms the grossest encumberance,
the Physical Sheath, and slightly subtler is the "Prana-
maya kosa" or the Vital Air-Sheath. Subtler still is the
Mental Sheath. In Vedanta the word subtle denotes a
greater pervasiveness (Vyapakatvaih). Still more subtle
than the mind is the Intellectual Sheath, and subtler still
is the Bliss Sheath, the seat of all joy-waves in us.

In Vedanta the attempt is to reach and recog¬
nise ‘face to face; the Subtlest of he Subtle, he Self. At
that moment of Self-vision the grosser robes fall off, and
Truth, our Real Nature, comes to be recognized as All-
pervasive intelligence.

When we recognise he Vital Forces of Life, the
very Fountain- head of All Life in he Universe, the world
itself shall have an existence in ourselves, and when we
P ee P into ^ Centre of he Centre, when we meet
t re Mightiest of the Mighty, he Lord of he Lords at the
peak experience in Life, in our Self- Realisation, we shall
gain lull freedom from he thraldom of all sorrows, disap¬
pointments, successes, failures, etc., and come to enjoy
the voiceless joy of perfection, the Immortal State of
Godhood.

Earlier I mentioned some of the fundamental

w S c Up i )n L Which Ule entire ground of Vedanta is built
Tn',fif e fir ^ ^ subtlest of he subtle, he Principle of
if wr’p K d ^ Wlthln us as a Divine Spark enveloped, as
h^nrt n ^® l 1 ° 1 sser C0 ^ting of matter, the grossest
^ Slca body. In order to drive home his fact

rhnmhipc - GX -P J es sive and ample illustrations of he
chocolates in different wrappings and shapes.

T , vi rfu^ 6 b| sc uss and try to understand he
Reality. If there is a Reality, what hen is the relationship
between that Reality and myself; how and where do the
names and forms that I see all around, fit in he scheme
of he All-prevading Entity, he Truth? What is a jfua and
the individualised, localised Ego-Centre? What is Jagat,
the entire visible Universe? What is God?

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INTRODUCTION

21

Once we have full understanding of what these
three- -Jsvcwa, Jiva, JagaL- are, we ought to know the
relationship between these three and the Supreme
Reality. We have to enquire into and discover what is the
realLionship between the individual Ego- Centres, the ” 1 ,
i, I,"- concept of which all of us constantly have.

The sum total of all the intellect of all the Jiva-s
that are living in the visible world, the Jagat, is the
Conception of God, Not our conception of a God, as Rcutlci,
Krsna. Siva, Christ, Mohammed, etc., but the Total Con¬
cept, the God-Principle. The particular incarntions
(Acotdr-s) are only manifestations of, the God-Principle.
"God is the Total Causal Body (Karaaa Saj-ira) of the
'Universe'."

We should now try to find out the relationship
of the grosser to the Supreme Essence, the Self. Our woi k
will not be very easy as it is very difficult for woids to
alight, as it were, directly upon the exact relationship.
Words are finite and finite words cannot express fully trie
Infinite, So tine method adopted in Vedanta to convey the
knowledge of the Self to the Seeker is through examples
or illustrations. Now these illustrations are meant to point
out one or two aspects of similarity and not all the
aspects. It is often said in Vedanta (fiat God, the Truth-
Principle, is like ‘Ako£a ! . It only means the Truth is all-
pervasive and that it is untouched by or unconnected
with, any of the things that exist in it. Space has got no
real connection with the outer tilings. Space, even ^ it
crimes be committed in it, ever remains serene arid pm e,
nor does it gain its purity because ol the Yaga-s done in
it. It is in these aspects of its subtlety, of its ^l'P e 0^ aslve '
ness, of its integral and essential purity, that, the Sasfia-s
say that the Supreme Reality is something like Akasd
We need not quarrel and come to hair- splitting argu¬
ments about it. We should not understand from words
such as * Akdsa' that there is a Sun or a Moon or clouds
hanging like vapours in the Absolute Reality. These are

1. - Sky

2. - Sacrificial Ceremonies

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KENOPAN1SAD

not_to be considered from the illustration. The example
of ‘ Akasa’ is only to point out one or two aspect of it.

Similarly, in trying to find out the relationship
between the world and God, the Supreme Truth, we are
forced to adopt the suggestive meaning or certain illustra¬
tions. Illustrations in themselves can suggest only a few
aspects, but as we go on munching it mentally, as we
apply our sharpened intellect and purified mind to it, as
we go on doing what we call ‘rotating the ideas in our own
hearts', the illustrations yield to us their sacred juice or
sweetness.

The relationship that exists among the Jiva,
Jagcit and God is explained by the example of a piece of
cloth in which we have some decorative patterns
embroidered by the very same threads; something like
our bed-sheets or table-cloths which have got some
embroidery on them made by the same thread. Now,
therein we have a piece of cloth; we have threads passing
in it and the same threads have woven themselves into
the paLterns in it. The various patterns together give us
the idea, for example, of a family sitting at tea. Now the
conception’ that we gain out of it, of a family sitting
around taking tea, is equivalent to our total conception

o the Jagat with so many oceans, continents, moun¬
tains, etc.

Now, in what does this piece of cloth exist? Has
i goi an. existence other than the thread? If we were to

^inU° Ve fl! *'1 ^ irea -ds, where would be the cloth? The
, 1 ‘ e *-hread, but in our not seeing the thread and
w ieri seeing only the thread ‘patterns’, we come to have
, e conce Ption that there is a ‘family at tea’. The thread
iei e stands in the place of God - Is vara soma bhutanarfi.
U Arjuna, I sit in the heart of everybody’; ‘Like a thread
in a gai land 1 penetrate through every form and hold them
altogether says Krsna in Gita. In this pattern of family at
tea, what is the essence? Nothing but the thread. But for
the thread, there would have been no pattern, and but
for God, there would have been no Jagat. Thus the names
and forms, tastes and smells, sounds and touches con-

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INTRODUCTION

23

slitute the ‘total conception' of the outer world we have.
The whole world is made a pattern in the Lord by Truth;
the God-Principle of the JagaL, the piece of cloth. If we
take away the Divine Principle, the entire pattern must
necessarily melt into nothingness, just as the piece of
cloth ends if all die threads in it are removed. The
patterns in the embroidery individually stand for the
individuals constituting the world. The thread stand for
the God- Principle, the TSdoj-cl

Now let us analyse and try to go more deeply
into die God- Principle. Let us analyse a piece of thread.
What is the thread made of? Is the thread itself a self born
thing and Eternal? Does it exist by itself and in itseli?
What is the cause of the thread? Certainly from die stand
point of the thread, the thread is a cause. But is die
thread in itself self-sufficient to be a cause for itself? If it
has a cause, what is the cause?.Cotton!

But for die cotton, Lhe thread would not have
been there, and but for die thread diere would have been
neither the cloth nor the patterns woven upon it. In
cotton, the thread, the patterns, and the clodi exist. Out
of cotton, all the diree came and into the cotton back
again diey all must go when diey perish.

There are, say, some ten idols made of mud.
Each idol may be named differently. Each has got, ac¬
cording to its form, a different name. Names change
according to the form. The forms change with the names.
Break them all. What do find? Mud! Mud they were, in
mud diey exist and into mud they go back. Mud is die
Truth-Principle in that array of idols.

Similarly, the Truth-Principle in diis piece of
cloth is nothing but cotton. Remove ail the cotton in it
and give me a piece of cloth, if you dare! And yet even so,
we rarely recognise cloth as nothing but cotton; we
understand but we fail to maintain the understanding.
For example, a shop-boy knows the cloth- pieces in his
shop only as ‘cloth' and not as cotton. So too in life, we
seek the Truth, while life is nothing but Truth!!

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KENOPANISAD

We ever strive only to have an objective under¬
standing and not a subjective realization of Truth. The
relationship between the individual Ego, the Jfuaand God
is the relationship between the pattern and the thread.
God is the immediate transformation of the permanent
Truth, and the next transformation is man. From Truth,
a step down, an immediate modification is God-Principle,
and the modification of God-Principle is man. Now we
have understood that God is man in the sense that Line
pattern is nothing but a 'thread’.

In Vedanta, the All-Prevading Supreme Reality
has in Itself gone into no modifications. The Cotton is ever
cotton. Only it changed its form, and we gave it the name
thread at one stage and the name ‘cloth’ at another stage.
According to our own angle of view, the same piece of cloth
changes its impressions or reactions upon us. On a
casual superficial look, we see it as a bed-sheet; here we
see only the gross total form. When we observe a little
more closely, we see the ‘thread’ and when we examine it
closer still we gain the Dors'an 1 of the cotton in it! Having
seen the. cotton, there is no difference between the
plurality in tire various patterns and the different lands
0 cloth According to our grossest of views, there is no
unUy whatsoever in the world of cloths but when we start
seeing the threads’ our plurality is much reduced, and
again olii vision becomes one homogeneous whole when
we see that it is all cotton.

, S ° t0 ° lhe waves, their froth, the bubbles and
. 1 , 111 ^ ie ocean are all nothing but the ocean. The
ames change with the forms but the fundamental Truth
remains the same. From tire standpoint of Truth, there
is no difference, there is no plurality.

In order to act up to his temperament, each
person lias been provided with a vehicle, different form
and a different body. And because there are different
forms in the object, we call them by different names.
Universal oneness is the Truth-Principle. If we approach
Lhe world from Lhe standpoint of Truth, there is but tine
One Reality, Thus no relationship is possible between the

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25

individual, the world and God and the Supreme Eternal
Truth because, relationship connotes two things at least,
if we sincerely seek the exact relationship between us and
God, we have to conclude that there is no difference at all
just as there can be no difference between the thread
and the patterns in an embroidered piece of cloth.

Similarly, what is the relationship between
gold and a gold ring? The ring is gold. What then is the
relationship between me and God? ‘I am God'. But the
hitch comes in with the misunderstanding which I enter¬
tain regarding who and what I am. Realising my real
Nature, and looking out from within as the Self, to me the
Self, ‘I am God'.

In order to achieve this State of full realization
of the All- Pervasive Supreme Reality, it is an unavoidable
step to seek tire Lord through love and devotion, It is
through interception of the Lord. (Isvcu-aBhakLi) 1 2 that one
can realise the highest Truth as Himself. Without Isvcwa
B/tolcti, no progress is possible and not even a distant
intellectual cognition of the Truth is possible for the
individual. It is an absolute necessity, an unavoidable
Self-training given by Religion - the temple, tire Kv'tan
and the Safsa/ig 3 . These are unavoidable.

So then when we have once understood tills
divine relationship, it automatically produces in our
mind, a thirst to know more and we continue our en¬
quiries. A grave question will then come to our mind as
to when did all these rise up? Don't you think that if there
be in reality only one Fundamental Truth, as the Satsamg
has shown, what about the many forms that I see around
me? Vedanta does not say ‘Don’t worry, keep quiet.
Vedanta gives maximum licence for our intellect. It ex¬
plains the why and the how of creation.

A hundred similar question face us as soon as
we step into the pages of the Upanisad-s and try to follow

L - Devotion

2. - Recital

3, - The Company of l he devotees / holy

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KENOPAN1SAD

the SmtL declarations. To seek an answer to all of them
at one stretch would be a futile effort. We proceed with
our studies and as we progress onward many of our
riddles shall get resolved by themselves and into many of
our doubts Light shall stream in from the Grace of the
Upanisad RsL-s themselves.

Vedanta never accepts that the Supreme has
suffered any change in its Eternal Nature of Oneness. As
a result of a mysterious trick- of-the-mind, we have come
to perceive and experience false plurality in Truth just as
a traveller in darkness mistakes the rope for the serpent,
and the lamp-post for the ghost! This power of veiling the
Truth in us is termed as Mayd in Vedanta.

LAW OF KARMA

The Law of Karma has been often
misunderstood as the Law of Destiny. There is indeed a
oo deference between the Law of Karma and the Law
° f - n es ; my - H , acl our haw of Karma been equal to the Law
. es ; n y;., Lhe hkndu civilization would have been long

l?Sn l ke th l e Roman or the Egyptian civilization. The
u„ t eshny has a corroding effect upon he human
/ r c ia a short time it renders its followers to be
., ec ua lotus- eaters. If a nation depends entirely

become*a connt°' D r esUny Lo S uide . ^ iL shall fall and
ntry of narrow-minded, inactive animals.

Law nr Kn?nt * e ,°* er hand, a people believing in he
r irit ’ _, L y. c nd wdo l )ve U P t0 h become a generation
of spiritual giants and dynamic citizens. The Law of
Kcu ma is based upon he final conclusion that this life is
not an end in itself but is just one of he little incidents
m the Eternal Existence of each one of us. Amongst us
each one is a type and has a life different from the other!
The destiny of one is obviously different from hat of the
other. Had his been the very first and the last of our
births, we should have had a more uniformity of ex¬
perience in life.

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Let us suppose that we have just 'fallen’ from
Truth or Reality into this momentous and calamitous
misunderstanding, then we should not have such a dis-
similar scheme, of each Ego living its own life of special
joys and woes. When we enquire, with the causes of great
differences among human beings, we are driven to the
conclusion that, having risen from different 'causes’, each
one of us should manifest as a different ‘effect’. Effects
depend upon their causes. This life in which we are living
is only one of our incarnations. We have had many
incarnations in the past, and probably, many more shall
come to our lot. From birth to death and from death to
birth, tlie whirl goes on, but we do not appreciate it or
understand it because we are viewing life from a very
circumscribed point of view.

We think that life means the period spent by
us between our birth and our death, and what we see and
experience around during this interval is life. Supposing
there hangs a picture painted on a canvas. In order to see
the entire picture painted on it, we have to step back to
some distance, and only then can we see the entire view,
the rhythm of the colours, the beauty of the curves, etc.
Similarly, when Life is viewed in its nearer perspective,
we find that it is illogical, unrhythmic, etc. In detachment
we will have to move away from our present Life to view
the whole Life and understand it as such.

Some of us blame the Creator for our unfor¬
tunate lives, and despair by saying ‘it is all our FATE'. You
should understand that there is a rhythm in the Universe,
in that the planets 'move' regularly, the stars ride their
appointed paths, etc. Everywhere, there is die Law of
Rhythm, and everything conforms to that Law. Only when
we come to the subject of Life, we say "there is no Rhythm
and there is no logic or system in it".

It is not so. We are the various ‘effects’ rising
from different ‘causes’. The ‘causes’ being different, the
‘effects’ are different. Thus, each of our actions of the past
has its own reactions, and each one oi us must have a
treasure-house of the entire-past-actions. This is called

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KENOPANISAD

the ‘SancitaKai'nia'. We all should understand that at the
end of living the 'fruits’ allotted for the life are called
Pi'di'abdlvx, on departing, each should take the next form
according to the pattern ordained by the ripened ones in
our total Sanctta Karma.

Let me explain it more clearly. Suppose I have
a piece of land divided into plots. In one, I plant coconut
seedlings, in the second seeds of lady’s-finger and in the
thu d mango seeds. In order to germinate, grow and yield
fruit, each seed would take its own time. This is very well
known to us. Similarly, each of our action has got its own
time-limits for its fruition. Every action has got its own
reaction; certain actions give their reactions immediately,
while others will provide their reactions only after an
interval.

To enjoy and suffer the reactions of the past
actions, each one of us needs certain joys and sorrows-,
an in order to bring forth these required experiences,

npc -ti" 16 mus *. dave a definite ‘field’ of one’s own experien-
ces. me word Loka does merely indicate its generally
meaning: the world. Loka means the special
. 1,1 w ^kh I live my own inner experiences, the

.einal world-of-objects remaining almost the same for
ca etymologically means a field of experience.

nf i n^ air !' P eo P^ e misunderstand the real meaning
^ When the y take Lhe word to mean all the
miidS KS en ? e , and weakness in them. If we are to be
. 3 fusion, the Prarabdha, in every act of
n ° I0 ° m r ° r self ~ improvement through
, irr fh f are some wdo console themselves by

SiS; i ve no $¥ h or love in God - and d is 4

Piaiabdha. This is a defeatist mentality. So far as we
entertain and live in a defeatist mentality we cannot
expect any progress. Without a personal morale we can¬
not work tor our progress.

From where does this Pui u$aj-tha come in if
Prambclhn orders every action? That we have been given
by the Divine Being a limited freedom is the truth. For
example, we cannot bend a piece of rail as it is, but

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29

supposing this rail-piece is beaten out and made into a
chain, the rail-matter becomes very easily pliable.
Similarly, when a cow is tied to a rope in the centre of a
pasture land, she is not free to graze the entire field but
she can move freely within that circle drawn by that rope.
Similarly, man, though he has taken his body to live a
fixed Pi-cu'abdha, can reach the Supreme Goal of life by
living the freedom allowed to him from moment to mo¬
ment.

No doubt, we have come here into this world
to enjoy and suffer for certain of our past Karma-s,
through the circumstances ordered by our Pi'arabdha.
And there is provision for us to discriminate and act
rightly. For example, is there not a certain amount of
freedom in choosing whether we should go to a cinema or
a Saisang ? Every moment in our life there is a challenge
posed by these lines: ‘Shall I do this or shall I do that'
There are two ways to deal with each challenge. Two
distinct paths are open to us. The Path of the Good and
the Path of the Pleasant. We find ourselves from moment
to moment standing at the junction of these two paths.
Often we are at a loss to decide which path to pursue.
There is a tussle between Satan and God in us at such a
moment of trial. By adopting the Path of the Pleasant,
man cannot get, in the long run, his full satisfaction. This
is die experience of all. One who has adopted the Path of
the Good gains peace of mind. Slowly, the former, under
the impact of repeated disappointments, comes to think
that he should go tlirough the Path of the Good.

The mind is made up of a soft matter, as it
were. As each thought passes through it, an 'impression
is left on the mind-stuff like a scratch and when similar
thoughts are repeated, it deepens into a canal. Every
subsequent thought wave has got a tendency to flow
through tli at ready-made thought-canal. Thus, if the
impression or the canal made is of good thought-waves,
then a good character is maintained and strengthened by
tire subsequent thought-waves flowing irresistibly in that
direction.

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KEN O PAN ISAD

■

Let us take an example arid examine the work¬
ing of the mind. If you have got a tendency to get angry
and want to put out that tendency you should first of ail
feel sorrowful or repentant about it. Then you will have
already suppressed the anger to some extent. Of course,
pent-up anger will burst forth at a later date if you 1 merely
suppress it. But, if you be intelligent, you should divert
Urat anger-energy into some other profitable direction.
You should not succumb to the anger -weakness meekly
saying, "It is my Prambdha".

a new canal in your mind with
i epeated good thought- waves. Repeat to yourself. *1 love
a i am very very tolerant'. Go on repeating the self-sug¬
gestive thoughts. ‘I am kind’, ‘I will never get angry’, ‘1 am
tolerant etc., and in a very short time, you will observe
ttiut you have no anger at all in your mental make-up.

nf First 0f 1 a11 - y° u should cognize things. Be

ShSmfnri 0U H We3bnesses ' Be My aware of them. Man
, , ' He ls ver y composition of his mind. When

fixed™* net S ° me actlons ’ repeatedly, one’s mind gets
rented t *1 lmpress }° ns ; ms m a world of reactions
“f'? . outer world-of-objects that we live. The

the mt&f experiences depends upon the duality of

me m?nd bein» n wh b mf. upt0 under «° the experience.

> cmg what it is, is ordered and set bv ihp

action! in Life SS Tlu\ iL h f gathered in its different trans-

mofives and ho .hf’ We COntro1 and chasten the

mofives and thoughts In the mind, we purify it.

r .. Faah moment of our life, we are not only living

tomorrow °EaHn Kf acl ; i0ns ' but 3150 ireatins those lb?
tomorrow. Each moment we are preparing ourselves for

*e lives yet to come. Prltrabdha ls caused by the actions

done in the past. It is only the very self-effort of the past

So if our Prambdha be a sorrowful one now,let us do

such acts today so that we can now determine or order a

happier life for us in the future.

Tlie Law of Destiny does not explain to us how,
even while we live the preordained and Prai'abdha- con-

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INTRODUCTION

3 I

trolled pattern of circumstances, we can have in the
immediate moments a freedom to create afresh. This idea
is not explained in the Law of Destiny. So it shatters our
morale and a soul-killing defeatist mentality comes to
in Man and makes him a dull inactive individual, a mere
dumb animal.

A happier morrow is built up only when we live
today a Life Divine. Religion has been asking us to
entertain and live such values of life so that while living
them we shall be creating an ordered life of fuller joys for
the morrow. Not only in this life but also in Uie next life
we shall be able to enjoy the fruits of our Divine actions.
Use the main righteous path: avoid the by- lanes, the
narrow, thorny, unrighteous path. We must start and
constantly keep on to the right path, to reach the
Supreme, our Goal. If our course be in the right direction,
then we shall certainly reach in time, our destination, the
Supreme.

Yet another way oflooking at it and coming to
the same conclusion is by re-vie wing life in the light of
Time-flow, wherein the future, through the present, is
ever becoming the past. Anything that is now in the future
must in time arrive to become the present - and ere long
should pass on to be of the past.

We have already said that human intellect
cannot rest without seeking the cause of things. This
causation-hunting urge in us is not generally Investigated
into, seriously and thoroughly, by the students, II we do
so, we shall discover certain facts in it which shall reveal
to us the inner meaning and the deeper significances of
the Law of Karma.

From the seed, the tree comes: the seed is the
cause, and the tree is the effect. From cotton, the cloth is
made: cotton is the cause, and cloth is the effect. Now, in
all conceivable examples tine cause is, like the father of a
child, anterior, and the effect, like the child born, posterior.
with reference to time: father was in existence before the
son was born. Cause is thus that which was, and the

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KENOPANISAD

r

effect is that which is. The past causes the present; the
present will, therefore, cause the future!

In short it is, therefore, said that the future is
not a mystery - an unknown miracle that man must wait
for its stunning revelations. The past modified in the
present alone is the future. The things to come are not
ordered by a mere continuity of the past: it can never be.
This freedom to modify the past, and thereby create a
future, for the better or for the worse, is Pwusaj'tha:
self-effort.

To illustrate: if down a river, running at 2 miles
an hour, a log is floating, then it will also move at the same
speed at which the river flows. But supposing, the log is
fitted with a motor and manned by an intelligent driver,
the log will have an independent movement of itself - no
c 0lJ bt,condiLioned by the flow of the river. When the
speedometer shows 10 miles an hour, the log will move
miles in an hour down the river, and only 8 miles an
Hour, ii it is moving up stream. The flow of the river will
ways be there: but due to the machine and the intel¬
ligence of the driver, the log has developed a ‘limited
freedom of movement now.

i-, , , Similarly, the plant and the animal kingdoms,

e tile log that floats down, irresistably in the flood of
e past, move, directed and guided by their natural
instincts and mere impulses. But on reaching the human
evel man acquires his reasoning capacity and is a
captain m his discriminative faculty. Using these two, he

can steer the ship of his life safely to his destination - the
Goal, the Ideal.

, Viewed carefully the present in itself has no

existence: it is a mingling of the past and the future....
the passage of the future to the past is the present The
living present is at once Lhe tomb of the past and the
womb of the future. This tomb-womb present has roots
going deep into the past and branches spreading around
everywhere into the future.

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To consider, therefore, that the present is but
a product of the past (Prarabdha) is undignified; to recog¬
nise then that the future is but a product of the present
(Puixi$aitha) is unintelligent. There is no slaveiy; nor is,
there full freedom. There is a limited freedom, which, if
intelligently used, can redeem us from all entanglements.

Thus, the Law of Kcu'ma when correctly under¬
stood is the greatest force of vitality in Indian philosophy.
It makes us the architects of our own future. We are not
helpless pawns in the hands of a mighty tyrant - God.
who, it is believed, has created us so weak and tearful to
lead our lives of limitations and pains. If we are weak or
sorrowful it is all because of our own wilful actions. In
our ignorance, we in the past had pursued certain nega¬
tive values of life, and like a Frankenstein Monster their
fruits have come up now to give us the pattern of cir¬
cumstances we are living today.

Never mind. Take heart. By living rightly today
the Divine values of love, kindness, tolerance, mercy, etc.,
we shall order a nobler pattern for our future. By careful
sell-policing, detect the wrong tendencies in us. Eliminate
them through constant and wilful effort. Develop
positivity and thus come to be the God of your own future
life. Be a GOD!

THE UPANISAD-S

#

To the VedQatin-s.'Vedsi is immortal and eter¬
nal. This statement must necessarily grate against the
modern educated view. They shall certainly raise serious
objections against such a dictatorial declaration. But
when we examine the statement closer, we shall discover
that it is not after all such a dictatorial belief thrust upon
the faithful from the Vedanlci platform.

The word Veda comes from the root "Vid"
meaning ‘to know'. Thus Veda means ‘knowledge’. To say
that Veda is eternal is not to claim indestruclability to the

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KENOPANISAD

text-books of the ‘Veda's. The lmowledge of the Self is
indestructible. Even this statement is not easily accept¬
able to many.

Let me try to illustrate the idea with a modern
example. From the days of Newton’s discovery, we know
that there is a measurable quantity of force, called the
gravitational force, with which the earth is ever attracting
everything unto its own centre.. Now, are we not right if
we say that the gravitational force is ‘Eternal’ in the sense
that it was silently acting even before the fateful afternoon
when that apple fell upon the nose of Newton and made
him sit up and discover the force of gravity? And now,
even when long after we have forgotten about this dis¬
covery, the force is acting upon things on and about the
globe.

Ju _st as this gravitational force or for that
■pf ter, dec tricity or the energy-con tent of each atom - is
m o ern , ’ , so . t00, Truth discussed in the VecLa-s is
j f n£L ‘ . , is n °t the Veda text-books; they may get
nr, 10 y ec Y a sonoe tragic accident. But no harm can ever

sariL V 16 Truth, (he Self, which is the theme of the
sacred Upanisads.

„ ,, The modern educated mind is apt to ignore the
, 011 y °f the teachings of the Upanisad-s and cry it

™ 3S ^ Set ° r fantastic imaginations of the Rsts. This
u . te maintained only when we have a superficial

gain mn - 6 ^ P^n-isad-s. lf i we study them closely, we shall

dapm ,,,• in dnc more in sighL into them, and our faith in
them will be more steadfast.

Mnr,t v. d he authors or Seers of the Upanisadic
r . / s were *Te Rsts, who, having lived through years

hl/in teilSe exD r eri ^ lce °f ^ world, had come to feel the
hollowness of a life of make-shifls among its endless.

medley of means and ends. They, in the midst ol lile's
sobs and sorrows, laughters and smiles, heard a ‘Call’,
the Call from Within, which had set them upon their
pilgrimage of seeking the Truth. In deep dispassion they
retired into (he thick of the majestic forests of the Ganges

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INTRODUCTION

35

Valleys and there, with a highly developed mind and
intellect, scooped their bosom to observe, analyse, class¬
ify and conclude the how and the why of the deeper
workings of the psychological and the spiritual man in
them.

These wisdom-sparks, the findings of a life¬
long specialised self-effort, the Master handed down to
his disciple, who also had reached him, just as he himself
had reached the banks of Mother Ganges. The disciple
learned from his Guru., and carried the torch of
knowledge, maintained, tended, nursed and nourished
by his own experiences and conclusions, until he handed
it over, intact and blazing, to his disciple.

Thus from teacher to the taught, the
Knowledge Supreme has come down, in each succeeding
Master, the Self-Science gaining in authority and wealth
of detail. These Master-minds were so selflessly true to
their pursuit after Truth that they, in the thrill of their
divine adventure, ignored even themselves! We have rare¬
ly any identity of these men left to us in die body of die
Upani$ad-s. In almost all the Upani$ad-s their authors
are unknown: they, as it were, forgot to add their signa¬
tures to their masterpieces.

To them die Discovery was all-important, not
the individual discoverer. They knew that man has but a
few years of bubble-like existence: they recognised die
hollowness of personal fame and name. They sought
immortality not in a plane of memory of the succeeding
generations, but in a subtler plane of the Eternal Con¬
sciousness.

Such a brilliant line of Seekers, each crying die
Same Truth, could not be false, in any sense of the term,
in their statements. Probably, in our times, a modern
philosopher might sing a wrong note to earn wealth, to
gain social recognition, to flatter his publisher or to
capture the fancy of the reading- class. But to the
Upanisad-Seers no gain was a consideration sufficiently
tempting to swerve from Truth. Even the kings had no

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KENOPANI$AD

hold on them; for the Seers lived in absolute freedom,
detached from court life and were in their inner perfec¬
tions, devout nobilities, mighty in their powers of intellect,
consummate in their renunciation, and thus truly kings
of kings. They had the grit born of True Knowledge to
declare even to the mighty emperor that he was a sad
worm, helpless and pain-ridden, even poor and power¬
less! The details of their great self-discovery were not
thrust down on all; it was given out only to such mature
minds who reached their presence, hungry and Lhursty for
this Knowledge Supreme. We shall also observe that the
Teachers. Lhough they vary in their expressions, in their

lines of arguments and their modes of approaches, all of

them, without even a single exception, reach the same
Divine Goal.

The Upanisad-s are revelations, not the
products oi the individual mind and the intellect. By a
ongpiocess of practice, control and discipline, the mind
anc intellect are trained to soar into the higher realms of
greater subtleties and to remain there in angelic poise and
grace. In their very lightness, at such dizzy heights of
seeking and soaring, they seem to roll off into a vaporous
nothingness! This is the fulfilment of all Yoga- s. When
, mi p d is sublimated, (lie faculty called intuition
s awakened in man, and Truth is realised intuitively by

nr n linl it n’g ^ a § es ; The Abso 1 ute-Trutin is not imagined
ascertained^ C ^ erm * nec ^ ^ * s intuitively exiJerienced , it. is

h, ,3 heSe sacred Upanisad-s are the cream of

In/h nnh?r ]eVe, ^ er ! tS in life ’ and f o«n the third book in
our Y ec ^ a ~ s - Each Veda contains three books:
the Mantra- s. the Brahmapa-s, and Aranyaka-s. The
first contains crisp words of secret potencies; the second
comprises the apostrophies to the majesty, grandeur and
beauty of Nature, and descriptions of the yagas and
yajnas, and the third book contains the Upanisad-s.

The vei y term by which the book containing
the UpanLsads is called, Aragyaka-s . means that which
is to be taught and studied in the forest. It means that a

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INTRODUCTION

37

field of peace and majesty is necessary for the mind-and-
intellect-vehicle to speed out and take off from the gross,
material, earth -- earthly thoughts and considerations.
You need not look aghast at this statement. Even when
you have some small personal problem, say to resign the
present job or not, what do you do? Don't you walk out
of home and go to a quiet and silent park and lying down
there under a tree, mentally review the pros and cons and
come to a final decision? When an ordinary material
problem needs this much of solitude, peace and space-
sense about us, how much more should one need the help
of a right atmosphere to delve within and seek the Eternal
Well of Life?

The entire Vedas were in the early days
handed down from teacher to disciple only by word of
mouth. But in the time of SriVeda Vy&sa, the Master Mind
detected a perceptible fall in the quality and stamina in
the nature of man. Those were the days when materialism
had probably started to throw wide iis muslin net ot false
values and false charms. Sri Veda Vyasa rightly foresaw
that soon the Science of Sciences would be lost to tire
future generations unless they were collected, classified
and preserved in writing.

SnVeda Vydsa collected all the Mantras, then
known to some scattered scholars, purified them and
edited them all into four great volumes; the Rg Veda, the
Sdnra Veda, the Yajw Veda and the Atluuaana Veda. Each
Veda contains three books: the Mantra's, the Brahmagas
and the Aragyakas.

The fit students who follow the Aragyakas for
purposes of specialisation, went to the majestic settings
of the thick forests on the banks of the Ganges. At the
mere mention of retirement, we of tire modern generation,
laugh at the idea. To us retirement is "running away . Oui
ancients never ran away from life. On the other hand, we
may say Ur at we do not face lile and its problems even
with half as much faith, sincerity, honesty and thorough¬
ness as they did. This running away attitude is taken,
even today as of old. by all men ot deep thinking. It is only

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38

KEN 0 PAN I SAD

the dull and the ‘animal',who do not, and to them life
means only a stereotype drudgery of continuous exertion,
of earning, spending, sweating, toiling, craving and striv¬
ing, sobbing, weeping and smiling. To such a crowd of
toilers, the market-place is the hub- of-life, and retire¬
ment, study, contemplation, meditation and self-sacrifice
are all foolish idealisms and mad actions. But they forget
that in their own times (hey have men suffering from the
same 'I&i-madness’. Haven’t we got them? What about
the professors oi the day? The scientists, who are not
mere duplicating machines of (he older generation but
who are on the path of discovery striving to strip Nature
an peep at Her secret beauties? What about our artists,
even politicians? Are they normal men? Are they not
in a deeper sense of the term ‘runaways from life’? The
aosent-mindedness of learned professors is too well
H ° wn Vf - The artists face suffering, insult and prlva-
nnW ' . though living in-garrets, yet carry on with their
w . mner profession - the constant pursuit of beauty,
e ignore them; and they seem to ignore us too.

, A 11 ,°* d man, in shabby clothes was once ob-
awavslrwf T ttin § \ n ^ earl h hours of a morning near
andwSh t k Tu d throwin g small pebbles into the water
StLn’ £?, Wider ,' ing ri PP les - When an 'honest

Sternonn ^ ^ ’ P^ 1 at his 'P ebble ' P la Y’ late-in the

declared- ^ moral mdignation was kindled. He
T n Sh0uld be shot a t sight in any

lienee and rh A-VA by res P° nsible men mtel-
a countrv’ TnH rac ^ er ‘ Suc h men are a heavy burden on
commoiferinf'itpH many of the hasty utterances of the
elusion nf thA'h d men . are , almost as wide as the con¬
us to know th-iM* 1 ni* IZen ' buL would be a lesson for
HinH fhonr 3 °i-i 1 Ci ^ lzen anc l the idler had in time

fcrelv'e? bn T; ^ a " y slreet 'dog. was forgotten and
gven but the idler is remembered and worshipped

even today for he was no other than Medici himself, the
master painter, who has left for us his immortal canvas
wherein he had caught the eternal play of light and shade
upon those ripples in the tank.

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INTRODUCTION

39

In short, the real, productive, original work
does never give us any sign of flutter, hurry, excitement
or outer sweat. It is a deep and fierce inner toil much too
subtle for our gross eyes to see. It is an observed fact,
even in our own machine-age, that when a wheel is
turning at a terrific speed, it seems to be motionless. A
top at its early fast movements of spinning would look like
a picture of a stationary motionless form : only when its
speed gets reduced does it deflect, exhibit agitations,
swing more and more across its own axis. When a man
lives the greater life of thinking and discovering Uiere is
less and less of the ordinary external gross activities. In
fact such men, even while living in a laboratory, studio or
garrett. are men living away from the life of the towns¬
folk. It is not possible for them to dance or laugh along
with the broadway crowd. They live certain values more
seriously and more intensely. It will be foolish and
tlio ugh Hess on our part to laugh at such great men ana
condemn them as ‘run-aways’ from life.

Similarly, some men felt the urge to seek a goal
far subtler than mere eating, drinking, sleeping and
breeding. For such a life of deep contemplation, a
quietude of atmosphere and a desireless state ot lvine
peace within are unavoidable. And such master- mm s,
in the past, retired to the banks of the Ganges, and living
through years of self-watching and self-analysis, s owy
cut out the route to the peak of Self-perfection, ley
handed down their discoveries to their next generau
through their disciples: and they in their turn added miles
of the path to the Unknown and themselves disappear
through death leaving the. work for their discip es
complete.

Upcmisad-s disclose to us the Road to the
Within, which is the combined work of many generations
of great thinkers, who lived the ideals they had dis¬
covered. These final discoveries oi Lhg Eternal, Infinite
Nature of the human soul refused to be trapped within
the meaning of the words of any language. Thus they had
to prepare, a specialized, cultured (Sainskartaj language.

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40

KENOPAN1SAD

The greatest vehicle, to express the Inexpressible, had
been thus arrived at in Sarnskrt.

Upanisad Mantra-s fulfil their functions only
through their pregnant ‘suggestiveness’. They do not
directly and openly express or explain: but with their
'indicative meaning’, in their secret ‘import’, in their
meaningful 'suggesLiveness’, they simply guide us to the
very presence of Truth.

Hence we always need the interpretations from
a Guru to understand fully the meaning of the Upanisjad-s.
Any amount of mere reading would not reveal to us their
fuller and ampler wealth of meaning. These Mantras are
jealous, shy and secretive by their veiy nature.

Not only do we need a teacher, but we, the
aught, also must have certain special inner energy to
concentrate and contemplate upon the subtler factors in
li .,1 ° Wn . make-up. This energy is gained only when we
- a noble life of ethical and moral values.

hslf § ooc ^ S°°d. Be regular in your daily

get u Ur nie ditation. Maintain Bralimaccuya. Try to
exnln-° Spiril of Lhe u P ani §ad Mantras as we go on
His U ’ ieir inner meanings and implications. May in
thrill We ^ come to gain at least a single moment's
111 01 the Upanisad Truth!

OM TAT SAT!

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CHAPTER I

We have by now discussed at length the place
ol the Upanisad-s in the Vedic literature, the End pointed
out by the Upanisad-s , and the Means advised by the
Upanisad-s to achieve the End. We shall now try to study
the method of teaching or the sLyle, adopted by the

Upani$ad-s.

Upanisad-s are the various attempts made by
different Rsi-s to express the Inexpressible. For this pur¬
pose, they with patience and perseverance, have dis¬
covered a fit medium -- a chastened, reinforced, tempered
language-- Samskrt. Even this pregnant language of end¬
less and inexhaustible sense and meaning, fails to convey
the Knowledge Absolute through its word- meanings.
Samskrt indeed, succeeds in explaining the Inexplicable
much better than any other known language. And yet, we
must note that the success of Samskd language in ex¬
plaining the Inexplicable is due to the masterly
‘suggestiveness’ of its words and phrases.

The method of study of the Upanisad-s is
different from the study of any known material science 01
the reading of novels. The study of science calls forth from
the student certain special faculties of understanding and
aptitudes of reasoning. For reading and enjoying a novel,
certainly the reader must have some other external
circumstances and quite a different mental approach
altogether. So loo in the study of Upanisad-s, we require

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42

KENOPANISAD

some special adjustments both without us and within
ourselves. The how and the why of this assertion is
illustrated in Vedanta text- books, thus.

Supposing a few of you and this Sadhu are
going for a walk on the second day of the bright fortnight.
Suddenly, Chinmaya notices the glorious Crescent in the
bright cloudless sky. The beauty of the Vision prompts
him to share it with his friends. Naturally, he cries out.
'Friends, see, yonder there, the beautiful Vision!’ and
points it out with his finger. But his companions fail to
detect it. There is in them an anxiety to see; and there is
equal impatience in Chinmaya to show it to them. And
since the sky is at that moment one homogeneous ex¬
panse of whiteness, the Suomi finds it impossible to
explain the position of the Crescent, with reference to
anything other than Itself. Had the 'thing pointed out’
P een a* 1 object among many different objects, it would
nave been easy, as he could employ the simple method

in iK right side of ^ table> chair or book, elc -’ B ut
e bright, cloudless summer sky, this method be-

°u eS ineffectual and impracticable. So. the only practi-
,u a „ ay le “ for aie Svami is t0 start - with something other
com't^ e p r f? Cent ‘ even ff il be a tree in the neighbour’s
manon'i says ’ Friend s- do you see that yonder

to the nnrifoT^ yOU n °H ce dle branch that goes directly
leaves ! There, on the top of it. do you see those two

you se/L*^ m nodding! That is right. Do
SvdjnT’c a- em ‘- ( ^ ow ’ ff the friends have no faith in the
the Sunm^h ^ lLy hon f® ty ’ ir they have no belief that
to sh3 £ m aS r ^ S£en Cresce nt and is impatient
frienH he J °y- Vl u 310n W‘th his friends, then those
tnends can never be benefiled by the Suomi If the friends
at the very outset start asking questions as to the method
and conclude that, ’to show a thing in the sky why should
we worry about the mango tree, the branch and the
particular pair of leaves', then the poor SudjnT might give
up at once all his attempts to impart the knowledge and
to share with them Lhe Vision of the Crescent in the sky.
But supposing the friends have firm faith in the Suomj’ s
sincerity, and are ready to go through Lhe necessary

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CHAPTER I

43

stages of the SuUmi's directions, then, if they co-operate
wholeheartedly, first to identify the exact ‘leaves’ pointed
out, thereafter the discovery of the Crescent Moon would
be but a mere child’s play.

Thus, the Brahma Vidya Guru-s , in great detail
strive to indicate to us the ‘tree’, the ‘branch’ and lastly
the ‘leaves’. From that point they only instruct ‘See the
Self. Look ahead. Yonder is the Truth!’ We have detailed,
though often self-contradictory explanations of the Crea¬
tion processes, the explanation of the individual’s body,
vital air (Praha), mind, intellect, and bliss- sheath. There
are wonderful assertions ofTruth in some statements and
equally powerful negations of untruths in other state¬
ments, and all these are but preparations. When the
disciple, in faith and sincerity, follows the explanations
and statements, carefully and diligently, he can soon
come face to face with Truth, in himself, as his own Self.
He is face to face with Truth, even long before he is
actually conscious of the very Vision! Even when, as in
our material example, we see the ‘leaves’ on the mango
tree pointed out, we are indeed looking straight in the very
direction of the crescent. The crescent moon is already in
our eyes. But we are not awaje of the crescent moon, that
is all.

Up to the ‘leaves’ stage, the Seer who has seen
the crescent can help the one who has not seen the
crescent. Afterwards, the Seer must retire with his last
instructions: ‘look’. The observer must then renounce his
gaxe on the leaf and look ahead to the far! We may even
say Lhat the Seer sees it not in an effort to see; it is just
a process of lifting his attention from the leaf, and with
an impact, irresistible and sudden, he becomes aware of
the crescent. ^nd h av ing discovered the crescent, he can
with ease see In one look both the ‘leaves’ and the
crescent!

So too. the Upanisad ‘Rsi s guide our attention,
step by step, to the Self, ‘the Atman’, in us as reigning in
the Centre of Life, the Seat of All Knowledge, by a process
similar to the crescent — from ‘leaves’. As such, we have

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44

KENOPANISAD

to follow faithfully each of their arguments and ultimately
be ready to ‘gaze ahead’ beyond all the explanations and
narrations.

Kenopanisad forms the ninth chapter of the
Talavakcv'a Branch in the S&ma Veda, We have already
seen before that each Veda contains three distinct
‘Books’: the Mantras, the Brahamana-s and the
ArapyaJca-s. Being an Upanisad, Kena fails in the third
‘Book’.

ffenopanisod starts as the ninth chapter of the
Talavcucaia Branch. The eight preceding chapters deal
with the Ka/ma and Upas ana processes, constituting in
mem, the details of rituals and religious formalities.
Kcu ma-s include special Ycy'na-s and Yaga-s (sacrifice) to
be performed and Upasand, which roughly are the early
exercises in higher meditation to be practised.

, Upasana (worship) has come to mean nowa¬

days that the Lord is present in an idol, symbol or picture.
Special objects are selected for special Gods: thus, in Siua
f u P e ^ m P ose the vision of Lord Sica; in Saligram
, e ' a °* nature-polished stone with strange mark-
°^ ten c °ntaining streaks of gold) we
Cross Jesus Christ; in
To thp Hpwnt ld ^ udc ^ a; in Fire the Lord Zoraster, etc.
Jhouch,tZ}?-\^ e s h ne 13 not apparent at all: his

So to? rf‘hh rd S /“ awhen he looks at the Llnga.
So too, to the devotees who worship other symbols.

, This, some of the sceptical modern youngsters
might say, is not true. Allow this Sacihu to illustrate the
point more clearly. The child sees its mother in a woman
its father sees in tine same woman, his wife, its uncle sees
in her, his sister, and its grandmother sees in that verv
same woman, a daughter. The child looks up to the
mother in reverence and love. The husband looks at her
with lust and craving, the brother looks at her with
affection and regard, and her old mother looks at her with
motherly love and affection. The woman remaining the
same, four different individuals have thus seen in her four

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CHAPTER I

45

different entities: mother, wife, sister and daughter. If this
is possible and is daily done in life, is it madness for the
devotee to 'See' Lhe Lord-of-his-heart in the idol? Certainly
to the sceptic it is only a stone and not the Lord? If this
be madness in the devotee, we will be compelled to accept
all living ones in the modern world as stark mad, and this
would certainly be not quite acceptable even to those who
cry down the idol theory.

Thus, a devotee ‘sees’ the All-full, All-pervad¬
ing God-Principle in the idol. The sight of the idol lifts him
from the planes of circumscribed ego and tunes him to
the Divine presence of Love. He expands inwardly.

Bhakti seems to be a later development: it is
an achievement of the Purdna-s. In the Vedic period, we
had a generation of mankind more serene, unexcitable,
calm and deep. To them were prescribed the various
Upasana-s. In fact the Bhakti Mdiya (Path of Devotion)
and the Upasana processes are the same in thei^tech¬
nical application. Through Updsand also Lhe Upasaka
atempts to gain a temporary escape from his cir¬
cumscribed identity to the expanse of the Universe. There
are hundreds of Upas ana-s prescribed^ in the^ Kcu^na
chapters of the Vedas , one of which is Prana Upasana or
the vital-air-worship. Here the worshipper deeply
meditates upon the ‘breath’ in his own body as the very
’breath’ that vitalises and keeps the entire community oi
living organisms vibrant with life. The individual s mind
is thus trained to expand beyond the iron shackles o
separative consciousness.

The rituals and formalities (Karma) are also a
great help to self-disipline. Man is essentially a creature
of desires so long as he is in the mire of his own delusions.
The Vedic Seers understanding the humanity intimately,
prescribed these Ycyna-s and Ydga-s in order to cater to
the yearnings and desires in man. If Kairnas were pei-
formed with desires, the Vedas promise, they will give us
the greater joys of Lhe ’world of the Manes’ or Lhe^dead,
and when Karma-s are performed along with Upasana,
the Godly joys of the Heavens.

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46

KEN OPAN ISA D

We must notice that these instructions in the
Kcurna kcinda are not meant merely for the 'finite 1 joys of
the PitrLoka-s or the Devaioka-s only. The idea that when
J±ie_ merits earned tin rough the actions are over, the
individual will have to descend from both the planes of
consciousness (the world of the Manes or the dead and
the world of Inch'd) to this earth of sorrows and imperfec¬
tions, is repeated in all the Sastra-s.

h ,After endless tossings between the worlds

nf a^ e an ° the earth, on e gains slowly a certain amount
Such growing' ones are instructed to con-
GnH-H^T an d Upasana in a pure seliless spirit of

intellectual nnl'f lf j^ ebv individual gains mental and
tolrnnin P UI ^cation and comes to entertain an urge

State cfeSss-SS^f* °f Perfection, an Eternal

one gains grows in his inner purification,

Iownlss oHhp ter * and g 'T ater und erstanding of the hol-
sCdfthlt^ ter u° rld of s ense-pursuits. He under¬
give is but nit* TT besL w dich even the heavens could
ver y stuff of ih!'p e f sorrow-ridden. Imperfection is the

gnaws at the root Sn?i : T!i mit;ati0n is Lhe canker *at ever
search hither anH ^u^L easures and joys. Our mad futile
exhausting and%, ■ Lh , lt j ier - Lo gain Eternal Joy is as
the musk-deer comes^n T Ul< l ma d gaspings in which
miles of the innate « S L ° bie ’ when it has run miles and

the musk-scint S emht?n?r e ’ Seeking after the source of
’ emit fng from its own special glands.

ning through the endfessm^ 3 ^^ 61 '’ S ° als ° man is run '
spending, accmirlna hm a- e °^ sense "°bjects, earning,
for more, only to geUiim^plf 111 ^ wastin g ah and striving
by his diet

satisfaction he is seeking. ° Ut gettmg at 1116 J°y and

shfl , A Ch r d ’ tTying 10 catch *e head of its own
shadow, moves forward and forward, but at each leap the

goai too_moyes as far away from it, until at last it falls off
e verandah on to the court-yard. So too, man seeking

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CHAPTER I

47

a permanent joy among the impermanent things, falls
into his grave. Alas!

That deer which knows that the source of the
musk scent is within itself, shall no more run about and
die in futile and meaningless exhaustion. The man who
has recognised the Truth, that the source of all joy is
within himself, will no more strive and struggle in the
meaningless dust,hustle and bustle, noise and nuisance
of the broadways. To him life becomes a hilarious,
melodramatic scene, and not a serious tearful tragedy of
his own impotence and failure.

When a Sadhaka with some years of un-at-
tached, selfless Karma Upcisand gains an amount of
subtlety and purity in his intellect and mind, he comes
to realise the folly of* his sensuous desires and yearnings.
He refuses to be any longer an idiotic musk-deer or a mere
child in his actions. He understands that the ‘sought’ is
really within himself and not in the ‘objects’ without.

Willi the realisation that the seat ol Joy, the
goal of eve 17 act of even,' mortal, is within himself, the
Sadhaka, now a fit student for Vedanta, starts under¬
standing the greater purposes to which Karma and
Up&sanR can be put. He discovers that he must perform
the former and pursue the latter in a spirit of pure
dedication, and thus earn for himself the priceless wealth
of dispassion, discrimination and an irrepressible desire
for an immediate liberation from the whirls ol Hie and
death.

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INVOCATION

At die very outset of the Upanisad, we hove two
important Sanii- Mantras, the peace invocation stanzas.
Lot of significance is attached to them. The first Sand
Mantra says i

spTrfl ^ cfcf cRcfratl
i fMtwf II

aS> 7TTf%:! wfcM

OA7 Saha nauauliL Saha nan bhimaktiL Saha viryarii karauCtuahai.
Tejasui na radhitam-astu. Ma vklui$a-vahaL

OM SdntihJ SantiW SdntitjJ

protect- - ?/ us both together; a^g-may (He)

enjoy (the b ? th LogeLher: »">ay (He) cause us to

enthusiasm! ?T?=( ' 0 g eLher * puL in efforts (with

ing of together (to find the true mean-

we both exert ^‘ bein g brilliant; ang-may

scriptures)-m L eUle f(to discover the inner meanings or die
es). In - never; misunderstand each other.

?TTf% • P^ aCe i be WitL ^ us ^ rom heavenly wraths;

: Peanp ^ Wlt u US fr0m P henomenal cruelties;
e be with us from bodily obstacles.

the pupil) £u y proLf ; ct us both (the teacher
May we both pit! | C ? USC u S both Lo en -i oy (the Supreme),
meaning of he S ° ge * er (L ° diSCOver 1116 Lrue inner
and fahhful w® CnpLuresb May our sLudies be thorough
ul We may never misunderstand each other.

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CHAPTER I

49

Om Peace (be with us from bodily obstacles);
Peace (be with us from phenomenal cruelties); Peace (be
with us from heavenly wraths) 1

^ ^ PKI^ ^ TfT W Phi 4)^

rKIcHR ftlct «wf: cf ^ cf ^ II

3^ YfTf%: ! ^TTf^f:! \

OM apy ay until maman.gS.ni vale pranascaksuh
srotramatho balamindriyani ca sarvanl

Sarvam Brahmaupani^adcuh ma’ham Brahma
nu'akujyam ma ma Brahma nirakcu ot
anv-akai-aaamastvanirakaranam me stii

Tadcitmani nirate ya Upanisatsu dhaimah te
mayi sanLu te mayi santu,

OM Santih! Santih! Santih! 1

55> - OM ; 3TTWFFg - may grow vigorous; 44,- niy ;

- limbs; - speech; JPT: vital air; - eye ; ear ;

- then ; strength ; - senses; ^- and ; - all;

all (are) ; s?r - Brahman; aihlH^- of the Upani§ad-s\ AT

- never ; - I; a?T - Brahman; - may reje ct ; AT 4T

-never, never; 4BT - Brahman ; Putfwrt - may spurn ;

- non-denial (of the Brahman)-, - may there be;

- non-denial (no spurning); it - in me (by me); 3T*§ - let there

be ; - in the Atman ; A - delighting which;

].-

in

Jignitication of uttering the word Sanlih thrice, is expUmed
Tjya SoamT/fs discourses on Mundakoparu?ad

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50

KENOPANISAD

- in the Upanisad-s ; - virtues ; ct - they all ; ^ - in me ;

- are present; % - they all; ^ - In me; *Fj| - may respose.

Om Peace! Peace !! Peace !!!

May my limbs, speech, prana (vital air) eye, ear,
strength of all my senses grow vigorous. All (everything)
is the Brahman of the Upanisad-s. May 1 never deny the
Brahman.

May the Brahman never spurn me. May there
oe no denial of the Brahman. May there be no spurning
jJ th e Brahman. Let all the virtues recited by the
P<zni$ad-s repose in me delighting in the Atman! May
they in me repose!

OM Peace! Peace! Peace!

, The first peace-verse gives us an idea of the
Drna w h ic h the teacher and the taught ap-

the venture of teaching and learning. In Brahma
operm- n ° j? ro § ress is possible witliout the active co-
from th 01 ! °^^ le teacher and equally sincere co-operation
Quarry 6 v^ght. Hence, the special prayer. ‘May we never
imnpn+- Vl ■ eac ^ other.’This prayer seems to be specially
for w L! V f l n the study of the scriptures where chances
meshpc r ’ use ' ess arguments can lead us into the
standi™ r ^n°us misunderstandings and wrong-under-
Qln S s of the Sruti-s at every step.

essentini it * n s ® c ° nd p eace-chanting, we find how
Personnliiv/ir f {J r f i? S^haka to build up a harmonious
entities in m 3 the physical, psychological and spiritual
bodies fn r ^ m - Sp ‘ mual Path, is not for the broken

heads ’ A™- the -. C ° nsLr ! Ctec !.i 1 P ar t s ' or for the tumbled
path- « r ^ ain ' ] t n °t sufficient if we pursue only the

Sunremp mU ^' fu il l V ° 1 ,‘ Ce the constant grace of the
each ru ^ a y the Brahman never spurn me’. Thus

chanting T f aCh T and ““ P U P“ slarl Ulelr >«*ons
Uln g these two stanzas of peace.

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51

^rf^RT t RTftT TO %?T 3TTR: WT: SfcT \

Kenesilarh patati presitarh manafj.
kena pranah prathamah praitt yukialx
kenesitam v&camimam vadanLi
caksuh srotrcirri ka a Devo yunakti

5& - OM ; - by whom ; willed : Hrift -

falls ; directed (sent) ; *Pf: - mind ; - by whom ;

5 f l Tr T ; -the vital air : kVR: - at first ; - does pro ceed (t o

function) ; ^fr-well equipped ; - by whom ; -

commanded : word (s peec h) ; this; - do

(they-men) utter; - eye ; sfapf- ear : 3 i:-who ; 3-indeed;

^-divine power ; ^-ifrti-directs (towards their respective
objects)

( 1 ) Disciple: By whom willed and directed does
the mind light upon its objects? Commanded by whom
does tine main Vital Air (PrSpa) proceed to function? By
whose will do men utter speech? What intelligence directs
the eyes and the ears (towards their respective objects)?

The entire Upanisacl is in a conversational
style. The student of life, after living his span of experien¬
ces in the world of sense- enjoyments, has come to feel
an impatience with the finite joys. He has rejected the
world as a field of meaningless strife and the day-to-day
material life as an endless race to catch one s own
shadow. He has grown up and has discarded the wot Id
of sense- objects. He finds in it and through it a glimmer
of a glory unknown and imperceptible. Thus rejecting the
false, he starts his enquiry, as it were, upon himself.
There he deLects the sense-organs which interpret lor him

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52

KEN0PAN1SAD

Lhe outer world and help him to "react” with men and
tilings, with conditions and circumstances, with time and
space.

As he thus enquires, he is forced to discover
the Mind in him,but for which his sense-organs cannot
contact with the outer- sense-objects and without which
he cannot live the experiences. In short he finds out that
-ther that assembly of limbs and sense-organs (Lhe
oociy) nor his mind nor his intellect can, of their own
accord function without a vitalizing principle behind
am™ u- ^though he leels it within him intimately,

m ° n £ his own fellow-men, such a discovery is not com¬
mon. Hence his confusion.

i n j, Critics who took this question of the disciple

connl | ret j L most superficial meaning had come to

answp - fv mat ^ ie Teacher in the Upanisad had failed to

die rjnp r sim P* e Question raised by the student. Had

die nh\ * '. een u P° n how the mind functions, or on

stud * unc d° nin g of the sense-organs, etc..

these h r en ^ r uld h ave approached some authorities on

sacrpH r anc ies °t knowledge. He need not reach the
eu leet oi the RsL

biologirai f^ 0 .had the question been merely on the
man, thp llncl - ions and the psychological mechanism in
literature a I )s ^ er would not come under the scriptural
Reality in ~? np j- ures of die world discuss die Eternal
Purpose oflif ’ tie oI exis tence, Lhe meaning and

his questinn- 1S ‘n Vld T tfr0m : the very way he had couched
light upon u* nW ^ u , ,dl . ed or directed does the mind
Factor wh' i * that Lhe student is enquiring for a

and its Pv 1C deyond the very structure of the mind
for the press ions, and which makes it at all possible
Heet-f" °i e ? ertain f eelings, and to ride on the

and o r - d sleed °f memory to reach, through both time
-space, various objects and beings.

inieli In themselves Lhe sense organs and Lhe mind-
leot equipments are all made up of matter, insentient

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is matter. In a living entity these vehicles are experienced
as dynamic and vibrant with enthusiasm. What is this
sacred Truth, the secret oi life, in the mere presence of
which matter gathers to itself a joyous radiance of bril¬
liant achievements? How can inert matter itself act? But
they are active.and so what makes it active?

To resolve the confusion - the Great Riddle of
Life, the disciple approaches his Gum enquiring if there
is an independent Eternal ‘Director’ who, by his mere
‘Wish’, prompts the mind to alight on the objects. If there
be such a great illuminator and Controller, Who is he?
What is it? What is my relationship with the Supreme
Power existing ever so secretively within me, ever vigilant,
ever brilliant and ever alert?

It is the function of the Upanisad to point out
this realisable Truth, that there is such a Divine Spark
in us, which is Eternal Wisdom, the Atman. This Divine
Entity in us is not realised by us because of our pre-oc¬
cupations with our Ego. Eliminate the_Ego in self-sur¬
render to the Lord, through unbroken Tsvai'a Smcwana,
Jap a, Khtana, and by hearing, reflecting and meditating
upon the great statements in the Scriptures.

May we all come to end our false little T - ego
and come to realise the true big T - ego - Sivohcuh. Many
have done it before. "You too shall,' is the divine optimistic
assertion in the thundering message of Vedanta.

THE TEACHER AND THE TAUGHT

The most striking factor that compels ones
recognition as one opens the Kenopanisad. is the impor¬
tance of the Teacher in Bralvna VidycL The great qualities
of a perfect Master have been detailed in our previous
discussions. He is a true Teacher who is at once well-
versed in the scriptures and also well-established in
Truth. As we read die very first Mantra in Ken a, we see
on the stage the settings of an /^srama, where a Master
siLs on his simple Asana beaming in the joyous ecstasy
of true living, a divine God-man, peaceful and contented
in his own knowledge of the Self. To him approaches a

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KENOPANISAD

healthy boy clad in simple clothes, carrying a bundle of
fire-wood, an external symbol of the boy’s internal urge
to know, of his readiness to strive and eagerness to
become the perfect, the Eternal.

The Upani$ad opens with die subtle and
divinely passionate queries on the nature of Truda and
the means of realising It.

The Gum in a grave attitude of unemotional,
balanced and extreme love, blesses the boy by a look of
grace which beams, as it were, from a point deep within
tire chambers of the Mahatma's "prema pw'na." (full of
love) heart and which seems to penetrate far into the
vaults of die disciple’s bosom.

, Unless the Gum is well-versed in the scrip-

ures, he will find it difficult and impossible to direct the
«ri+w-° i die kpy towards the Self, which is ever shining
.. ia dirn ‘ If the Guru be very learned, but not one who
constantly in full awareness of die Self, he is

Knowledg aPaCitateCl L ° bless Lile hoy wiLh die Eternal

aniDlps Sc h°lar Pundit-s of Banaj-as are apt ex-

A listhn-c r " uru ' s Ayh° are Srotrujas, but me not Brahma-
Banaras Sadhu. approached a lordly Pundit in

‘Pundit iT th^ Q- 1 dle end of die da y’ s lessons asked,
created min e j. a I s msistent that once the Nescience-
effulgencp r annihilated - Truth is realised in its own
meditation?' rf can . really one stop. the mind through
and pointedh 16 r6p y of ^ Pnnditji was callously open

Sow p ZS sl T e ' ‘ My boysaid he - ' if y° u to

wavs nfr ' C d , rea, 1 yy earn t0 gam an initiation into the

Master irmh^ w- 6 h f f aa isad-s, leave Bancuas and seek a
o . he Himalayas . How can we say whether the

S . CU1B - £a f M P ractic ^ We only believe in the
a pi arnana . But we have not so far tried to sit at a
1 ace and try to calm the mind and enjoy even for a
moment the promised bliss of die hushed-mind, and so
cannot answer you or guide you’.

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The same question was put differently and on
different occasions to different great saints of the
Himalayas . On all occasions, irrespective of the persons
and places, everyone of them, without a trace of hesita¬
tion, beamed out with a charming smile of joyous ex¬
clamation and roared, ‘It is true, It is true, It is true’. These
words weigh heavy, with the sincerity of their assertion
and sink deep into the vaults of the aspirants’ hearts.

The reverse is also true. Some of the Master -
men of realisation in the Himalayas, noted and recog¬
nised for their realisation, adored and worshipped for
their perfections, prostrated and served for their divinity,
are incapacitated to be a Gum to a disciple, since they
have no medium with which to express their deep and
subjective experiences. They stammer forth some broken
words of endless import which, as it were, fizzle out and
evaporate away even before they escape their lips. Or, if
at all some words fall out they convey no sense to the
eager hearer. Often such Masters guide us through their
Presence, their ways and their actions, and physically
they take to an akhaa<$a (unbroken) vow of silence. In
short, a real Brahma-Nis^ha, unless he be also a SroUya
(well-versed in the Rostra-s), cannot be a full teacher to
all classes of students.

To such a complete Gum a disciple approaches
in meek surrender, devotion and eagerness, ready to
sacrifice anything, to serve, to purify and to realise.

Thus, in the opening scene, we have also a
glimpse of the qualities of a true disciple. This question
in the opening Mantra is an ample revelation of the
psychological and spiritual man in the disciple. He is one
who has faced life diligently, lived life intelligently, and
has pondered for himself to realise that the value ot
sensuous life is hollow. He has sought for some more
permanent factor to live for. The seeking has brought him
a great dispasslon, born of knowledge, towards all
earthly attachments, and has made him sink into himself
seeking fo r a greater and nobler Goal.

The authority of the Sastra-s

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KENOPANISAD

A sLrong man, who has had previous ex¬
perience of expeditions alone is fit to attempt scaling of
Mount Everest. A man without daring, courage or an
indomitable spirit of adventure, cannot be a successful
mountaineer. So too, in scaling the top pinnacles of
spiritual perfection, the expedition can be successfully
accomplished by one who has the necessary physical,
psychological and intellectual equipments. If one lacks
these necessary qualities he must stick to the lower
practices prescribed as the early Sadhariu for the Sctd-
iaka till such time he has removed all the deficiencies in

Mainly, such deficiencies in our personalities
e caused by the world’s experiences themselves. The
«.-r, e fw° nSl ! :) ! e ’ J Vain "^ orious idler becomes responsible.

, in dustrious when his father dies or a bank-

m e ^ V j S P ennile ss- So also, to each of us.
nn i„ ured,doses of experiences are dispensed; we have
ariincurr, a ^ e ^ intelligently and to make the necessary
comes inaM^f 1111 ' Destiny, when received thus, be-
surrenn w i? ad ° fa ruthless monster, a loving and sincere
is not hi™ a° °, per ff es t0 relieve pain and cure, ’Bad luck’

that helnc ,, shackle u P on us but is In fact a tender tie
at nelps the creeper in us to stand erect.

unavoid ohl^ 0 a see %. r after Truth, a Gum is as absolutely
student nf \r !f- a ^ma-linga to a Sica devotee. To the
goal, Jusl Guru is the embodiment of his

beloved Siun nnf sees no stone, but sees his

faults in hk r y ^ ^? e a ’ a true disciple sees no
pure Consr-in UnL T ° t ''u his Gum is nothing but

Anyone 2 Absolute Bliss, Eternal Wisdom.

devotion m 6 SuC ^ a tota * feeling of faith and
neupr pvn continuously in us, is our Guru. You should

vou - nH P i eC f- at 3 ^ real - Gum by his touch would convert
a j ansform you to Godhood, If you wait for such

a dream-Guru to come to you, you shall wait In vain.

In fact, self-redemption must come ultimately
lrom ourselves. The external props such as temples
idois, Gum-s, etc., are all encouragements and aids’

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These external-helps must be intelligently used by each,
to his best advantage, and he should thus build up for
himself the necessary inner perfections. With inner purity
and perfections, the Sadhaka acquires a wealth of purity
and comes to be guided more and more by the pure
intellect in him.

To a Veddntin, the real Guru is the pure intel¬
lect within. The purified, deeply aspiring mind is the
disciple. This is represented for us in the unforgettable
scene in our Bhagavad GU.d, where between the two
opposing forces_, in a chariot, the Absolute Teacher is
preaching the Gita to (lie Eternal Disciple, Arjuna. When
a pure mind gets aghast at (lie negativities arrayed
against the comparatively smaller forces of positivities, in
sheer despair it surrenders itself completely to the pure
intellect, the Lord Krsna within. All such living Aijuna s
can even today hear the entire divine song in the inner
Kuruksetra of their own bosom. Only we must make an
earnest attempt and in faith wait for the critical hour
when our minds glide into the voiceless state of true
Vairagya - the true Aijuna SLhitL

Thus, the most important thing is our own
self-effort. In sincere Sddhana, purify the equipment and
the Guru necessary for our next stage of growth shall
reach us. This is the Eternal Law, Hour by hour, the world
about us is so ordered as to give us the necessaiy doses
of experiences. What is necessary for the next stage of
growth is always provided by the all-witnessing and the
All-merciful Lord.

Sri Ramakrsna Pai-amahamsa never went out
seeking a Gu/xo so too are all the masters of our own
times. SriTotcipwi Maficu'qj had to reach Daksinesvaixi of
his own accord to instruct the Mother’s perfect Son in the
higher realms of meditation. Each one of you is equally
sacred and precious to the Lord. When one comes to
deserve a Master, He shall reach him to guide, to help,
^ to enlighten.

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KEN O PAN IS AD

Slick to Sadhana. Be Good. Be kind. Be sin¬
cere. Purify the motives. Build life upon the enduring
values of Love and Mercy, Charity and Purity. Through
constant remembrance of the Lord rise in spiritualism.
Qum-_s shall, from time to time, reach such a determined,
sincere seeker.

The opening Mantra poses a great question:
Who directs the mind, which, as it were, goes out towards
its object?’ The words 'Goes out’ (patati) implies the
VeckmLa Theory of Perception. According to the Vedcinttn.
the Alma Caitanya riding the mind flows out through the
sense-organs and reaches the ‘objects' (either sound,
touch, form, smell or taste) and the mind takes the form
of the ’object’. For example: when we see a pot, the mind
runs out through the eye, reaches the spot where the pot
is, takes the form of the pot, and when the Caitanya in
the pot thus embraces the Caitanya-spark in our mind,
we come to 'know' that,‘it is a pot’. And, it is according to
this Theory of Perception that the student asks in

Kenopanisad, 'directed by whom does the mind run
out....

What is the dynamic, vital force behind the
mind that makes it vibrant with life and activity?

SELF- PU RI Fi CATION

So far, we have seen the place of the Upanisad-s in
the i/edic literature, their contents, the mode of treatment
and the necessity of an Interpreter or a Guru. We have
also found the sterling qualities in the make-up of a Gum,
and we have discussed that ultimately the Guni-Sisya-
Scunvada must be within ourselves. However full and
elaborate the discussions may be outside, during the
gross meeting of the teacher and the taught, they will not
help the aspirant to move higher into the subtler Realms
of Truth within himself.

The Atman In us has come to dream, as it were,
of a Dream-World; hence, our feeling of limitations and
imperfections. We know subconsciously that our Real

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Nature is much more perfect than what we consciously
feel now. It is not everyone who comes to feel this Call of
the Perfect from within, which is termed as the Restless¬
ness of the Soul’. This is because, to many of us. the
subconscious is so dumb, that we do not realise its
workings at all. When we have got an urge within oursel¬
ves to become the Perfect, we feel that we should, as it
were, expand ourselves in all our capacities. This in itself
is a proof that there is in our nature an Infinite Perfection
waiting for its realisation and fulfilment. You may think
that it is mere wool-gathering of an idle brain or an
Utopian concept of an ineffectual philosopher when you
hear people saying, ‘Go to the Guru with a pure intellect
and with a true urge for obtaining more of the Real
Knowledge’.

In fact, man has come to forget his own real
nature. We are now living as a seperate Ego in a suffocat¬
ing sphere of endless limitations. We have forgotten that
we are all, in fact, that unpolluted, undiminished, un¬
modified Supreme Reality. Our strifes are all our vain
attempts to become wliat we cue. But we are running
about aimlessly in our mad delusions after the false. We
do not wait or pause, even for a moment, in our sobbing.
Weeping and sobbing have become our habits. If anybody
shows an Eternal Tine Path, we dare not even look that
way. We have become so habituated to tears and
demoralised by our own negativities that we cannot cut
ourselves away from our wretched habit of sobbing. We
have sadly misunderstood ourselves.

If an external thing cannot be seen without
light, there should be something within us also, when,
with closed eyes, we say that we 'see' a pot, a chair or a
pen. The mind takes the form of a Miu~o.li Mcinoiuu when
you think of Him during your meditation; and this is
called the Krsna—Mental-Vrtti. What would then be the
light that illuminates this Vritti?? !s it not the Light oi
Wisdom or Intelligence? Mental Vrtti in itself has no power
to tyrannise us or mother us. Only when this dead mental
wave is ridden by that Wisdom-Light, has it any potency

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KENOPANISAD

to persecute us. Mind can make a victim of us only when
the Mental Vytti is dynamised by ourselves. It is only we
ourselves who enable our minds to play the part of a
Samsarin.

Stop the mind. Then there is no world (Sam-
sam). 'Wake yourself up\ that is all. And this we CAN do.
That waking-up can come only when we have come to the
feet of our Guj-u, with a pure heart and a bright intellect
enquiring of him, 'where is the Inner Self. In delving Into
this Truth, a Guide is absolutely essential for all but the
exceptional few. From the outside, we have to take a
/ ighl-abouL-turn of our gaze and turn It inwards. The Lord

Umes tainlymanifeSt in a Btiakta ’ s meditation-room at all

i a _„ , Lord in the temple is the Emperor in his

g^es C at the S h 5S C ^t an t0 * e P°P uIace - Ea ch Bhakta
intimate rnnnf/r sta K ndin S out in His balcony, but no
there 1 If von wn ^T ^ etween mem is ever established
Lord " g n I lI , 0 have 2111 intimate meeting with the

have’met the chamber * The greatest of Yogis

net me E° rd m His private apartment.

you should^have 1)16 Lord ’ s Loner apartment,

love for Him To ? maunt of fa «th, loyalty and

bed-chamber toeHaUnm n ' W 1 have tQ reach Hls
Lord’s Abode' We {Pur ^ Consciousness: that is the

sclousnesrwhiS is^/^* 18 ^^ ° f Pure Con “
we reach that ChnmK ed chamber of Lord Himself. If

perfect Master as we have here in Kenopanisad.

, , u "Phe mind goes out and seeks the obiect and
takes the shape of the object. This Theoiy of Perception
m Vedanta has already been discussed. We see the Gan¬
ges flowing to the East, and if a villager is asked why it is

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61

so. he would say 'it is so, because, it had been so even at
the time of my father, grand-father and great¬
grandfather'. But if you were to ask the same question to
a modern student of science, he would say that as East
happens to be a low-lying area and as ‘liquids find their
own level’, tine river flows eastwards. Thus, you see,
things can be better explained in their behaviour, when
we have the true knowledge ol them.

In order to gain a Godly fact or make a profit
you have to live every moment vitally aware of what is
happening not only outside yourself but also within
yourself. But unfortunately the instruments, oui mind
and intellect, are left to rust just as die great¬
grandfather's razor is left in the wall-shelf rusting. For
generations past we have been allowing the mind and the
intellect, our great instruments of knowing, under¬
standing, feeling and blinking, to lie in neglect. Let us
repair them and make use of them. It is accomplished by
sincere and long Sadhana.

Questions such as those asked by the disciple
in Kenopani$ad - ‘What projects the mind out? What
orders the mind to go to its objects?' will not come to the
mind of an individual who has not spent many years or
intelligent analytical thinking. Unless he has vitally lived
the life himself, such questions will not mean any tiling to
him. Here the Seeker has, it is clear, come to a conclusion
that the physical eyes cannot see of their own accoid.
There must be a very subtle Power behind the eye-instru¬
ment that vitalizes it. And that Power is so subtle, tha
our gross intellect cannot reach anywhere near it. It is
something like the instruments used in miniatui e carv¬
ing. The work calls for the finer instincts in man, a
delicate touch, and intricate movements of the hands, etc.
and in addition to these, it needs finer instruments for
engraving. Similarly, we need a very pure mind and
Intellect-instrument to delve into the depths of the Truth
behind the sense-organs.

Without understanding the Total Knowledge
we cannot discover our Real Nature. We are now-a-davs

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KENOPANISAD

building up our life with such false values of selfishness
and egoism that we fail to earn the real SantL A Total
Spiritual Revolution; so to say, is what is wanted. You can
bring real salvation to the world only by going into your
own inner-most abode and seeking the Truth. Self- per¬
fection alone can pave the way for world-perfection- The
World around us in itself is dead matter; we have to
vitalize it by our own self-perfection. This idea should be
inculcated in every educated man’s mind; this is the
urgent necessity of our times, if we are to escape the

damnation we have created for ourselves with our own
animalisml

u s tune up the noble instrument of mind
given to us through a careful policing of our motives and
oughts. Let us, with such a prepared instrument,
search out the Wealth of Light-Power-Wisdom that is lying
m ourselves. Inowown redemption lies world redemption.

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to 9ft TOt TRt ^

«fhCT: SlcWIcrdl'fclt^dl ^f%ll^ II

^rolrasya Sfrotrarii manaso mano yad

vaco ha vacam sa u prdn.asya prariaty

caksusas - cak$ur - atimucya dhirah

pretyd'Smdllokdd-amarta bhavanli

the ear; -.the ear; - of the mind;

*ft: - the mind ; - of the speech ; f wz - this is the

speech ; 3 - the very same He is ; xi u i^ - of the ‘life’; sift -

- the ‘life’; - of the eye -• the very eye ; -

having abandoned (having transcended); sfFn - the bravely
wise; rtc^r - having gone away ; stwtt - from this world
(of senses); s^pn-Immortal; ’Ftfcr-become,

( 2 ) Preceptor: it is the Ear of the Ear, the Mind
of the Mind, the Tongue of the Tongue (Speech of the
Speech) and also tire Life of the Life and the Eye of the
Eye. Having abandoned the sense of Self or T-ness in
these and rising above sense-life, the wise become Im¬
mortal.

For a direct question such as ‘Who is the
Director?’ the preceptor answers that He is ‘the Eye of the
Eye', ‘the Ear of the Ear’, etc., because a direct definition
of the Infinite and the Eternal Life principle would be
impossible. To define God is to defile God.

This is an illustration of the suggestive lan¬
guage of the Upani$ad-s. The Brahman, cannot be
demostrated positively in a concrete manner, as the thin

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KENOPAN1SAD

crescent of moon could not be pointed out. But the
branches and the leaves’ of the tree are indicated here.
We know Lhe mind, the eye and the ear. The rest is
suggested. Brahmaa is Lhe causative force of Lhe things
we know. One has to realise Lhe Brahman for himself with
the aid ol these suggestions as one has to see the moon
for himself.

SINCERE PURSUIT

found earlier that to a question of the
disciple, who is that, that directs and guides the mind and
d ,' e intellect, he Master answered, ‘It is the Mind of Lhe
Mind, etc. To such a direct question of Lhe disciple, Lhe
laster s answer is not so direct, but appears to be
couched in evasive terms.

P . . Obviously it is so, if it be viewed from a super-
1 . Ci /[; standpoint, but as vve go on digesting his replies, we
fh SC0V f r diat tliere is no evasiveness on the part of
t- aSte i r ’ . u * on odier hand, his solicitude towards
e c isciple is so great that, under the circumstances, any
ouier answer given by Lhe Master would have certainly
r y ilsunders tending in the mind of the disciple as

ligence^fTh?? 1 ?^ 6 ' . By sayin § Lhat there is an ‘ inte1 '
ngence of the Intellect and ‘an Eye of the eye’. ‘Ear of the

^ ll_ aas ^ een ^ n dicated beyond doubt that the
; -Vu 0 /, gans ‘. th . e ^driycL-s. and'die intellect are not
l .^ a p e 0 functioning by themselves, but are motivated
by a Power from within.

Master has thus not only answered the
pupils question but at the same time has initiated him
in to a subtler world beyond the grosser world of Lhe Mind
, i c the Indnya-s. The Master seems to imply that, unless
le disciple is ready to renounce his conception of the
world outside and the sense of reality in the perception
of the gross In.di~iijci'S and Lhe Mind, and is ready to walk
with him, hand in hand, into Lhe Atma-Loka. he cannot
help the disciple in his search.

The World of Truth is something not known to
us. do us iL is a strange region, a Land of Dreams. Really

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65

speaking. Line majority of us here are listening to the
Upani$ad-s not because we have the requisite Vairdgya
to proceed on the path indicated bv them, but because,
it is something strange to listen to. Some of you here,
while actually gaining only some idea of die UpanisacL- s,
may have the intellectual vanity to assume that you have
become Masters of the same. Such intellectual vanity has
been die stuff of many men throughout the ages and that
is probably the reason why the ancient Masters have often
proclaimed that Lhe Road to Perfection is long and ar¬
duous and the jncinamcuga, the Path of Knowledge ol the
Upcinisads , is not for the many, but only for the chosen
few. The Upanisad-s themselves proclaim that the way to
salvation is as difficult as it is to walk over die sharp edge
of a razor. Nevertheless, Lhe idea that after all there is a
greater purpose in life than mere eating, living and having
a ‘good time’, should give Lhe average, educated person
something to fall hack upon, or else in die midst of his
pursuits of ambition, greed and material values, he gets
himself buried and destroyed. It is such men, not knowing
that they are playing with fire, when they revel in false
values, get disillusioned, disappointed and in despair
attempt to end life in cowardly suicide. This Divine hope
that there is a Reality, greater dian all that he has come
across in his work-a-day experience, will give him com¬
fort, solace, encouragement and hope at severe moments
of life’s poignant trials.

The Master indicates by means of his tactful
answer, that Lhe student must prepare himself and lie
ready for getting himself initiated into a strange land
which remains sealed off from Lhe ordinary viewpoint. It
is thus to alert the student and prepare him for the gieat
adventure of travel to the Beyond for the great discovei y
of Truth. Lliat the Master has answered Lhe question
which is seemingly no answer at all. The answer is in fact
intended to be the key which opens up a new Gateway to
Lhe mind’s eye of the student, it contains in germ form
the whole of Lhe later development of Lhe idea that Truth
is not tliat which is heard, seen or understood by Lhe

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KENOPANISAD

Incb'iija-s and the Intellect, but it is in fact the Seer or
Knower Himself

All men are endowed with the Divine Light even
though they may not be aware of it. Truth need not enter
into the Soul, for, it is there already, only it is lying
unperceived. It is because we do not know' who we are,
because we are unaware of the indwelling Truth, that we
have, which is generally termed as human nature, the
general feeling and experience of limitations and imper¬
fections. The One Truth can be known only by one’s own
spiritual perception. Others can only awaken the spirit
and indicate the path. The experience must for ever
remain a gift of one’s own self-effort.

. . In the second part of the stanza, there is a clear

indication that the seeker, after departing from theworld,
a tarns immortality. Many Masters have applied their
m nds to this point and from their mature thought and
scussion, two crystallised schools of thought have
merged, one proclaims that Perfection cannot be
S ° as we 376 living in the Physical body and
a ^ m * n< ^ can achieve Perfection only by shedding
„n r ,u n ° r 9°^' According to this viewpoint, great men
p f as \ ec ^ a W/asa and others could have attained
nnir!f G ‘ ° n ^ Ca -Stmg off their physical bodies! This view-
Lr , s 3 ven / literal word- meaning of the Upanisad-s.

w o ias made himself fit by self- preparation, alone
can understand what Upanisad-s are.

T^ e ^ i *drenof the Smtisearch the Mother and
, c , , 1111 ,°^ 1 0ve 1° flow. They have to nurse and suck
b J' ea ® t } n love 311(11 tenderness. Sruti Leaches you to
, . S .S y° u lo the inner perception of your

nteltect first. before you can independently come to grasp
the subtlest of the subtle. s

. When we analyse both schools of thought

without prejudice, we come to the conclusion that the
Vedanlic standpoint of Sri Scuikctra is the correct and most
acceptable one. Certainly, the other school has also gone
into the matter with the profoundest thoroughness, but

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at the same time, its view appears to be a little coloured,
a little prejudiced or distorted. According to this school.
Karma is to be continued till death, and Kajana is to o_e
accompanied by lessons in meditation called Upasana
and these Upanisad-s are only Mantraps to be meditated
upon. According to them, the Upanisad-s are not a
particular path of Yoga, but are only Mantra-s to be
meditated upon. But we find Sankcua's explanation to be
more logical. He says that the Guru must be well-versed
in the Sruti-s, besides being also well-established mTrut
Consciousness.

Sankai-a argues that if what the Sndi says is
literally true, we cannot expect to get a perfect Master or
Gum. because as soon as the Master becomes perfect, he
has to die, for only after death he can have the pure
experience of Truth. This literal interpretation according
to Sahiccu-a. is obviously wrong. That, it is not the ir jte
tion of the Sruti- s. is supported by the very style of the
Sru£i-s.

Then what should be the meaning which we
must understand from the SniLL-s? It is that the Master¬
mind delves deeper and deeper into the Land Beyond a
If he were to reach the subtler World, he must necessarily
leave the grosser outer world.In order that I may have m
Consciousness of Ore Homogeneous Truth. I must leave
once for ever, at least for the time being, the mortal wor
of duality and egoism. Unless I surrender
pletely, I cannot reach the shores of the New Reaha*_
homogeneous mass of joy-—the Eternal Joy, _

Absolute--can there be a world sorrowful and paJ_ -
den? We with our vain intellect and mind start creau g
our own pains and sorrows in the world. Thus, we we 1
the world of false values and false terms, attacl 1 g
ourselves to things ephemeral and finite, and despair y
saying that this is the life destined for us by our creatoi.

Can we then come to possess the Knowledge
Absolute? How have the saintly men of discrimination,
after renouncing everything, acquired the Knowledge o
the Truth? Stop all your attachments to false values. In

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KENOPANISAD

this ever-changing world there is nothing worthwhile for
us to desire for or weep for. Joys and sorrows are bound
to come in human life. They are just like the two sides of
the same coin.

Only through the instruments of the gross
Inch iyci-s we gain an impression of the gross world; then
comes die feeling that we are a crowd of sorrowful
creatines. But we^can cognise the Life- source pointed
out by the Sruti Vakya, ‘the Mind of the Mind’, etc. Only
after transcending these thoughts in our intellect can we
hope to have at least a psychological perfection.

. h is the value which we put on the world, as
^ n < ??£ niseib that really matters. But the time the outer
e ? d in , US ’. lhe Section seems to be some-
The refl * ' 0 f 0 ^ r * 0 °Iung at the shining bonnet of a car.

the 2 ° f he outer world in us results in our seeing
imnerf t as ^ R is distortion of the Real that the
but that* 10r a s u ^f e ‘ the Seer, the world is nothing
everv bif Wli | e die m *rage is actually being ‘seen’,

is recoded L f, notJl . in g but the desert. Once the desert
or the bubbles , no more the ripples or the waves

only. of the Mirage. All is now to him the Desert

State of t i eacbes us that one can reach this

processes Rv P on ® c i°u sne ss, if we were to follow these

certainly better than main an aut °' Su ^ estion ’ U is
'I am a Samsmiif m Naming an auto-suggestion that

misundersfnnriirm r !u we P ers i s t in living in the
ephememlforfhelt unrea3 for ^ R eal and the
the °‘ lly t0 P rovide sustain

the 2nd o? me^uth ' ° f ^ Self ' becauSe * at ^ is
world beToTdo'f e t h ° riZ0n h H0W d ° we tX,w the

a beyond; Let us consider what generally the sources

nol° Ml k p n0Wledge T*' Remember - in spiritual life, we are
not taken away into a new world; nor is it true that the

Gu/u gives us some new powers with which we live there.

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We reach Truth, by self-effort, striving consistently with
our moral faculties.

How do we gain knowledge of a thing that is
unknown in Liu is ordinary life? For example, how do we
know that there is a war in Korea now? The same proces¬
ses by which we have come to know that there is a Korean
War may be applied in knowing Lhat there is a World of
Perfection. We come to know of the war through the
newspapers, through hearing others' opinions about it,
talking about it, day in and day out, and also through
disabled soldiers, who have returned from the front. Let
us now see what the newspaper reports are. Newspaper
reports are a description of incidents and happenings in
the field, reported by persons who are quite unknown to
us, and who, we believe, had first-hand information of the
war. The brightness of the Master-Minds of the Upanisad-s
are unknown to us. Sruh is the newspaper lor the Seeker
of Truth. Similarly, 1 hear news on the radio, i.e., through
an Instrument. 1 am listening to the voices of some
persons whom 1 have never met. Likewise, If within me I
have certain thirsts and spiritual unrests, in spite of the
external circumstances which ought to have made me
happy and satisfied, the urge within me received through
my 'radio'-- the mind, makes me seek in tine far ofl realms
of thought, a Reality — a Truth.

The Vedic words which repeatedly emphasize
this, we do not easily believe, since, as in the case of the
Korean War, it is not an external fact. We have the great
text-books, which cry out unanimously that hhou art
God’. If Korean War is reported in newspapers. Truth is
declared by tire mystics of all religions. Unless you
renounce the present mode of living, you cannot have
perfection. Perfection is only the return to our real nature
and this can happen only when we voluntarily relinquish
the God - eclipsing anti-spiritual Ego-sense and its actions.

There is yet another source - the living Masters
who are rooted in Truth Consciousness. By their very
touch the soul of a man is thoroughly changed; there are
immediate signs of visible divinity. Whatever are the

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KENOPANISAD

sources of our knowledge in our day-to-day life, they are
also the very sources of knwledge to know THAT. Only, in
spiritual enquiry, we must be as sincere as we are in
seeking material possession and knowledge of things in
this world. When in passionate sincerity we uncover the
dung heap of memories and anticipations, and discard
them as accumulated products of our age-long ignorance,
then alone shall we return to our real nature, the Atman.

The Veda-s are the newspapers; Satsamga is
the club talk; meeting Mahatma-s is like meeting the
disabled soldiers; watching the joy of Divine Life in the
faces of the new converts is listening to political discus¬
sions. All the day-to-day sources of world- knowledge can
be used in our enquiry into the World-of- Perfection.

CHAINS THAT SHACKLE

Recently, a black-marketeer left Delhi by train
ror Madi-as.' Noticing that this merchant had a lot of
money on his person, another person, a rogue posing as
a big whole-sale merchant, also started by the same train.

e pretended to hold good business connections with the
various merchants and talked in terms of lakhs and
t0 ^ former - The first night he searched the
,-,11 , a § m S s of the genuine merchant with a view of looting
™ ih S R u f’ for all his efficient search, the rogue

could not find any trace of the fat purse of the Delhi
merchant Next morning, tire merchant was actually seen
nJr his ^ ad °f notes, as if nothing happened. Satis-
Th ’ n nieic ^ an1 - thrust the purse into his coat-pocket.
The rogue wondered where the merchant had concealed
the purse during the night. The second night Loo was
spent m a vain attempt to get at the treasure. Again, in
the early hours of the third morning, as the rogue
emerged out of the toilet-cabin, he saw the merchant
counting his wad of money. Again, he tried the third night,
but again he met with disappointment .Never before did
his deft fingers know such disastrous failure! When they
alighted in Madras, they saluted each other and parted.
The rogue could not control himself and so he asked the

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merchant where he kept the bundle of money. The latter
replied that lie had been keeping the money under the
very pillow of the rogue!

Just like that, friends. Vedanta says that Real
Bliss is within ourselves, just under our own very noses.
Yet in our ignorance we search for it among the objects
of the world plodding on and on endlessly through
Samsdra. Truth is so near that we cannot see it lor
ourselves.

Going back for a moment to the opening two
Mantra-s of this Upanisad. we find that the student asked
a direct question to which the teacher seems to give not
too direct an answer. It is the ‘Eye of the eye’, the ‘Ear of
the ecu' - this appears to be not an entirely satisfactory
definition, this is begging the problem. Why does not the
Teacher answer the question directly? Such a doubt must
have been seen expressed in the eyes of the disciple, and
so the Teacher, here in the following stanza, explains how
the theme cannot be expressed better in language. Why?

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KEN O PAN IS AD

3^'ftdKfa

11311

Na tab'a caksw gacchali na vag gacchati no manat}
na vidmo na vijanimo yathattad-anusi§yat
Anyadeua tad viditad atho auiditadadhi

Iti suSiuma pui-ue$dm ye nastad vyacacaksire

1 - never ; tT? - there : - eye ; J I^Ri - goes ; ^ -

nor ; ^ - speech ; - goes ; ^ - never . tr: - the mind;

H " never : - do we know ; 7 - never ; R'sjrIm: - do we

know perfectly; Whow it; can be Instructed

- very distinct . that is ; RRd i < - from
the known ; sw- then ; 3tfaRdl<- from tire unknown ;
ex tremely (distinct) ; - thus ; we have heard ;

from the ancestors ; § - who ; ^ - to us ; ^ - that ;
- stated (taught us).

• a v tt ^ e ^ e does not go there, nor speech, nor
mind. We do not know That. W e do not know how to
instruct one about It.

h is distinct from the knomn and above the
unknown. We have heard it. so stated the preceptors who
taught us That.

Eyes cannot reach there. It is the very Consciousness
that makes it possible for the eyes to see; iL is Light or the

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Truth with which the eye sees things; and it is the Seer
behind the eye, just as the observer in the observatory
sitting peering into the eye-piece of the telescope. The
telescope by itself cannot see, but it is the man behind
the telescope who sees. Similarly, it is the Atman that sees
or rather the Seer -in us, the Real Eye that sees. In utter
misunderstanding of this Truth, we boast that we are the
‘eyes’ and we think that through this eye we gain
knowledge, i.e., through the five Indriyci-s we can gain all
the knowledge. All the time we know not what are the
Incb'iya-s within us. When by a certain discipline of the
outer Indruja-s we control the mind, the mind generates
a certain power, now latent in us, called intuition , and only
with this wisdom-eye can we experience the Truth.

To the question, ‘What is that which makes the
mind go out?' the answer given by the Gui'u is the Mind
of the Mind’. If I, for example, ask a certain youth, who
he is, he would naturally answer that he is tire son ol
so-and-so. But if the youth has some standing, some
so-called position in life, he would automatically say that
he is the Sub-Collector of Ramnad or some such desig¬
nation. Likewise, in our world of conscious living, we
know the eye as the seeing instrument. But tire Gro'U says
the 'Eye of the Eye' sees, ‘the Ear of the Ear’ hears, etc.,
etc.

The Ear of the Ear cannot be the Ear itself just
as SrTDorai, son of SnRam cannot be Sri Rain him seif-
Thus, only some indication of what Truth is, is given to
the student by tire Giuiiin this seemingly indirect answer.

It is also a fact that tire Atman is the theme or the Subject.

It is not a tiling with quality or actions, and hence cannot
be a substance. Naturally the usual explanatory methods
by which we generally understood other tilings are not
available in Brahma-nidycL

‘What is a Substance?’ Substance is a finite
thing having certain qualities. So, if the Atman has any
quality, it should be a finite thing and naturally it be¬
comes a substance. A substance must be different from

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KENOPANISAD

me, a thing which I can perceive through my finite
sense-organs. So, when we say that Truth is beyond the
grasp of the Indiya-s, it is equivalent to saying that it is
a Factor without any qualities. It is the Eternal Divine
Presence without qualities.

When a thing is thus beyond all qualities, how
can a Guru explain it to the Si$ya in specific terms as
such-and-such-a-thing? In olden times, BhasTnasurci.
after much Tapas, got the power from Lord Sica to reduce
to ashes all that he touched. Then in the end he met with
his own destruction when he tried to destroy Lord &iva
Himself. Our Intellect is a BhasmasuicL Mind and Intel¬
lect cannot gain a knowledge of the homogeneous. Let us
analyse the processes that take place when I say that a
certain thing is black. Firstly my eyes observe and the
intellect says, from its previous memorised experien-
ces, tliat it is black in colour. Then this blackness recog-
nisea as itself is added on to the object and we know that
it Is black Thus, observation, classification and codifica-
uon are the processes adopted by the intellect and the
mind. Like Bhasmaswa, the moment the intellect reaches
to know a thing, it is dissected and analysed into its
component parts. Thus the Truth, which is ONE cannot
but disperse the beam of light. Only a lense can converge
a pencil of rays into ONE point.

i r T his int ellect, even when it reaches the higher

planes of thought, can only understand the qualities. It
can live and act only in terms of its own experiences
m - 6C ! P revlousl y through the Indi-iyas. The mind and
the intellect are no doubt efficient in the laboratory, but
they are to be considered as shoes and are to be kept away
er jter the higher realms of Religion and Truth. We
should develop Intuition to glide into the Realm of Pure
Consciousness. Intuition is not to be created all afresh.
It is there within ourselves. As we go on analysing the
values of things and as we go on thinking on Sruti Vakya.
we develop this nature. Only by ‘listening’ or ‘hearing’ can
we learn Vedanla. You will feel in course of time what a
better texture of joy you are getting from Vedanta

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Sravanam. ] IL is not Lhe run-away from life that can start
the noble adventure of the Eternal Truth.

Neither eyes nor any of our sense-organs can
reach our Self. We, therefore, do not knowhow to instruct
about the Self to others. It is different from what is known
and it is beyond what it js unknown. The only way to
explain Truth is through Agcuna. 1 2 We often come across
Lhe instances where the ancient Rsl-s themselves
proclaimed and defined Truth to their students, saying,
This is what our Guru had taught us'. Our vehicle of light
to the higher realms of thought is not intellect but intui¬
tion. The Eternal Truth finally experienced by all the
Saints during Samadhi is the same. The routes may be
different and yet the place and destination, the
pilgrimage or the Temple, is one and the same for all
pilgrims. Atma-Anubhava? of Samadhi is the same,
though the explanation of the experience given by the
Seers* may differ. You should take in and learn to ap¬
preciate every bit of religious knowledge, because to a
Veddntin all the religions are welcome. If you have got the
urge to reach the Truth, you are justified to do anything
that contributes to your progress and realisation.

As knowledge experienced by the five Inckiya-s
alone can be expressed in words, I cannot explain the
Truth, which is lived through Intuition, to you. When the
theme for expression belongs to the plane of sense -
experience, we can explain it away in terms of its
qualifications, species, manifestation, etc. Neither the
sense-organs nor Lhe organs of action can reach the
Supreme Reality, the Atman. In order that the Indiiya-s
can perceive, there must be an object that could be
perceived as distinguished from the sense-organs, For
instance, I can see my body, because the body is an object
and I am the Seer seperate from It. In the case of the moon
in Lhe sky, the Seer in you sees it as an object. You are
seeing that mental Vrtti within yourself Similarly, you see
the Seer, who is the Truth and only Lhe subtler activities

1. Hearing

2, Sftstra-s

3 Integral experience of the Atman

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KENOPANISAD

of the mind can see the Truth. When we reach the Goal,
there is no language to explain that transcedent Ex¬
perience.

There is an ocean of difference between what
is known and what is to be realised. When it Is said, it is
beyond known, it cannot be cognised by the five Indi'iya-s,
as all the known are knot on only through the sense-organs.

THE SEER

A wealth of meaning is compressed into this
Manti'a especially in its words "Anyadeua tad uiditddatho
auiditadadhi" (That is verily different from the Known as
also from the Unknown). The Upanisad Mantra-s do not
easily become familiar to us. They are rather shy and a
lot of courting alone can win their confidence and en¬
courage them to lift their veils and give their courtiers the
‘Vision’ of Divine Beauty.

Hasty courtiers fail. Often the modern readers
rush into the harem and frighten these beautiful ladies
into indignaLion and reserve. We invariably approach the
‘Upanisad-s with our own prejudices. We approach the
Mantra-s with a view to argue and criticise. Naturally, we
are repelled by their persistent reserve. But, if we were to
approach Lhe Sruli in devotion and love, and coax her
blessings with our sympathetic tenderness for her and
eagerness to know her. she will make her courtiers soar
into realms of Pure Bliss.

The passage now under discussion, Truth is
Beyond the Known and the Unknown\ is a lit example of
the above. To the impatient, matter-of-fact, business-like
attitude of approach, this statement has no beauty to
reveal. A pure intellectual approach is not the technique
of love! Love-making is an intelligent use of the flowing
heart spariding in sincere Love. We shall, therefore, try to
discover its deeper meaning by making love to the Mantra
and try to win her.

7'hc Known (oiditcufi) means the entire objective
phenomenal world which can be perceived Lhrough the

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sense-organs, mind and intellect. Since we have found
already that these are but agents of Truth,' mere inert
instruments of Pure Knowledge, they in themselves can¬
not perceive the Known without the Perceiver behind
them. The Seer or the Perceiver cannot be perceived
through the very instruments of perception. So then, the
Knower is not the Known , but is beyond the Known When
we look at tlie moon, say, we see the moon but the Seer
of he moon is not he moon.

Again, the Perceiver cannot be he Unknown
When he teacher said hat Truth is beyond the Known,
naturally, the student is apt to conclude hat Truth then
must be an Unknown entity. To remove his possible
misunderstanding in he disciple hat Truth is factor
'Unknown and the Unknowable' (as he Western
philosopher Kant claims it to be) and to assert hat It is
a positive factor beyond the Unknown also, he Sruti
insists "aviditadadhi" - "Above the Unknown".

This term ‘ Above the Unknown’ seems to be
very tricky and intriguing only to one who is not ready to
sit up and ponder over it. To an intellectual idler alone
the term is hollow and mysterious. It is with such safe
locks’ in he Upanisad Mantra-s hat he ancient seers
protected and preserved he BrahmavidycL and he Divine
glory of it emanating from he fact hat while they are
safety-doors against intruders, hey are also training
grounds for he worthy ones to become fit (or the
Experience in he Sanctum Sanctorum. We shall thus
sympathise rather than laugh at hat child of the West
who had critised he Veda-s to be ‘mere babblings of a
humanity at childhood!’ What hen is the meaning ol the
Factor Above the Unknown ' Sahkcwa in his commentary
explains he word ‘Above’ as ‘ Something other than , for,
he argues where we say ‘a bird on he rails’, he bird is
‘something other than Lhe rails’ indeed!

Let me try to help you to understand this by
an example. Do you know he date of birdi of Asoka' ? No!
No! No! - will be your immediate answer. Please hy to
understand exactly what happens, in each one of you, as
you say that you do not know. At the question, what is

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KENOPANISAD

the date of birth of Asoka, each of you started for seeking
tliis information in the memory-store and finding that it
is not there, cried out ‘No, I don’t .know’. Then your mind
declared, ‘I don’t know’. We know this to be mental- Vrtti,
that is, each of us had a positive knowledge ofthe negative
idea "I don’t know". In short you knew that "You don’t
know". It is clear that a Positive Illuminating factor il¬
lumined for you this negative idea. That factor is Truth,
and certainly it is above and so ‘different from’, the
negative Unknown Idea illumined. The sun illumines
things other than himself; He being of the nature oflight,
we are not right when we say that he illuminates himself.
Fire illuminates and burns other substances, but not
itself.

If the Absolute Eternal Truth is beyond the
Known and the Unknown, what else can it be but the
Knower himself. The Knower knows the Known and It
ly knows the Unknown also. That Eternal Knower is
the Self,the Atman.

Even ex pl ana hon of Truth is not in any
sense ot the term a satisfactory definition. The great Seer
m Kenopanisad is specially emphasising that His state-
nnent Beyond the Known or Unknown is a teaching he

ms heard from his Gum - ItiSusruma puj-ve$am .The

emphasis on Agama-proof is a constant factor met with
in eaantcL. Absolute Truth is not available for us through
chrecL perception of It with the sense-organs, mind or
intellect. Nor can we deduce or infer Truth. No proof is
available in this wondrous field of Self-enquiry. The only
pi oof Is Agama, the traditional knowledge* repeated*
endorsed and given out to their respective disciples by a
long and unbroken line of teachers. And* hence the
Master in Kenopanisad, defines Truth* in terms of the
Agajrtci , as beyond the Jcnoiun. and the unknoiurL
Iti Susruma puresam' meaning* "so have we heard from
the ancient/

* Tlie traditional knowledge repeatedly given out over generations
by the Masters to their Disciples

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t^f^E

Ycid vaccC nabhyuditam
Tadeva Brahma tuaih ui'ddhi

3ft ollJl^^l

yena vagabhyudyate^
nedam yad-ida.ni-upa.sate

that which (was); - by the speech;

-not revealed ; 3 ft - by which ; - speech ; 3T*^icr - is

revealed (itself); - That alone; 3^T-the state of Brahman

thou ; M%- know ; - not this ; that : ^T'

this (here) ; - worships.

(4) What speech cannot reveal, but wh a j-
reveals speech, know THAT alone as Brahman and no
this, that people worship here.

According to Sankara, 'speech’ is not only the
Instrument of speech but also the letters and the accepter
order (and number) in which they must be pronounce
to produce each word by the organ of speech. The power
of speech is not in the words or in the instrument o
utterance. It is a manifestation of the Eternal Sell.
Atma-cattanya in us - the dynamic Life-Centre m u ,
because of which speech is being uttered while we ar
‘alive’ and in the absence of which speech ends, is
Atman. Again though words are uttered because o ie
Caitanya, words cannot themselves explain It. Just as lie
can burn and illumine other things, bul does not con¬
sume or lit up itself, so too, speech uttered as a maniies-
tation of Truth, cannot itself illuminate Truth. Tat (the
Atma-cailanya eva - alone: this word atone has avery dee p
significance). Our attempts to explain or indicate Truth

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KEN OPANISAD

can be only of a conditioned Atman. We cannot indicate
the pure Truth as such, it being without name or form.
Electricity as such cannot be explained to a layman; the
easiest way would be to explain to him the filament and
the glass encasement of the lit- up bulb, then indicate to
him that ‘Electricity is THAT power running uniformly all
over the electrical-circuit and which on reaching the
filament manifests as light’. Nov/ the layman must learn
to understand that ‘current is the nameless and formless
power without any reference to the bulb, the filament or
the light even’. So too, here, though the Guru indicates to
the aspirant that Truth is ‘that Life-Centre which
manifests as the power of sight in the eye, the power of
hearing in the ear, the power of speech in the tongue, etc.’,
he is equally anxious to warn the disciple that ‘the
Absolute Truth is that power which is in no way as¬
sociated with any of its seeming conditionings, such as
the ear, eye, mind, etc.’. To indicate the Pure Self, without
Its conditionings, in Itself as the Absolute All-Pervading
Truth we have in the Siuti the emphatic and divinely

powerful word eva meaning ‘alone’ in ‘Know That alone is
Brahman'.

Though the enquiry held was into the Dynamic
Factor, presiding over the evident functions of life in the
student’s own physical body, the advice of the Teacher
ends by a vehement assertion: ‘know THAT alone to be
Brahman !- Here, it is significant, that the Scripture en¬
courages by an unequivocal declaration that the Self, so
discriminated and experienced, is the Absolute All-
Pervading Pure Existence, the Supreme Truth. This is not
in any sense a self-contradicting statement. This is a
Veckmtic Truth. That the Self in us, at the time of its
experiencing, is realised as the Self of All, the Eternal,
Unconditioned Substratum for the Supreme Brahman.

That the Self realised within is the All-Pervad-
ing Absolute Self was discussed by us during our earlier
lectures. 1 on must be remembering how we proved the
actual oneness of the room-space with the all-pervading
space. This room -space can come to claim an identity of

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its own only with reference to the four wails of the room.
Thus, a Master who has experienced the Self and thereby
fulfilled the Veddntic realisation, must necessarily ex¬
perience tire Oneness of the Absolute Truth.

By stating that That alone is Brahman', Sruti
is not failing into an abrupt silence. Had she done so. a
doubt would have arisen in the mind of her children'
‘What about these that we see? What about Rama, Kr$na,
Siva etc., tire team of I$ta Devatas?" By a plain and open
denial, she sweeps clean all possible doubts when she
asserts: "Na idcuh yad-idam-upasate" meaning, ‘Not this
that you worship’.

Whatever we might express by the pronoun
‘this’ must be an object ‘Knoujn’; that is, it must be an
object perceived by any one of our sense-organs, mind or
intellect. That which is perceived cannot be the Perceiver
and what we are seeking is the One who is behind all the
instruments of human cognition. All that we can express
as 'this' must necessarily be only a conditioned Atman, No
reflection of the sun can be the true sun: similarly,
everything cognised as ‘ this ’ is not-Atman and the not-
Atman is not, and can never be, the Eternal Truth. The
Master is here, by a positive assertion, removing every
trace of doubt in the disciple who is yet apt to feel, under
the earlier Bhakti Sadlumd- impressions, that Truth is
the Lord conditioned by His name and form.

This portion of the Manti'a should not be
misused to deny idol- worship or laugh down the Bhakti
Mdrga. The one who has evolved into higher stages of
Perfection through Kir tana, Tapa, Dhyana, etc., is here
initiated into a still higher camp in the pilgrimage to the
Pinnacle of Truth. The anxiety of Mother Sruti is not to
damn the aspirant, but lovingly to stretch out a helping
hand to draw him nearer to his Spiritual Goal. The
gracious Rsiof the Upani$ad is helping thejdisciple to go
beyond the famous Coronation picture of Sri Rdmacancbzi
into the Ocean of RdmaTattva behind His Golden Throne.
Through Rama to Rama- Taltva : through Kr$na to Krsna
Tattva : through names and forms to the Beyond!

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*

The Upanisad helps Lhe Devotee to merge into
the very Essence of the Beloved of his Heart, Lhe Lord.
Vedanta accomplishes a nuptial ceremony between the
Bhakta and his Ista. The fulfilment of all Sadhana cannot
be reached until the Sadhaka realises that the Lord alone
exists and even the T-ness and 'My’-ness are nothing but
super-impositions and dream-stuff playing their games
of self-delusion.

"This can be directly realised and subjectively
lived by every ‘Love-seeker’, if his devotion be deep and
ardent enough," is Lhe repeated assertion of the Religion
of Vedanta. Where other Religions seem to end, there the
Golden Avenue of Joy. the Vedanta, starts. Man is but
Cod, as God alone is True, everything else is false. Vedanta
guides and. encourages, leads and pushes us out of our
painful Scuhsar'a-cb'eam into the joyous realisation of our
wakeful personality.

Vedanta is no annihilator of BhaktL No Bhakta
can Jre a true one unless he be a Veddntin ; and no
Vedantin is perfect unless he be a lover of the Lord.
Philosophy without love is madness ; Love without
philosophy is superstition .This has been the tacit and the
explicit declarations of all great AcOiya-s even down to
our own era. Let us not forget this great fact.

mind is man

What is the stuff of Lhe mind? How many of
you have thought over it? Even to create good character
in you, you must know what the mind is. No doubt it is
very difficult to understand what Lhe mind is. but with
our intellectual perception, the mind is capable of being
explained to some exent by means of parallel storjes and
illustrations. The mind has been explained in our Sastra-s
in different ways. According to one definition, the mind is
nothing but a bundle of V5sand-s (impressions). To the
modern psychologist, the mind is nothing but
‘temperament’. One of the explanations given by Hindu
Sastra-s to understand the mind, is by comparing it to
the River Ganges.

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Now what is a river? The river is not a mere
volume of water between two banks. It is not water
stagnant within the bunds. The essence of a river is in
the incessant flow of water from its source to its end.
Similarly, the mind is the unceasing flow of ow thoughts.
Thoughts are die manifestations of the mind. When
thoughts are ‘Jlowing' at a great speed, one following the
other unceasingly, that flow of thought is called the ‘Mind'.
If you can stop that flow, there is no more functioning of
the mind.

Again, take the illustration of a lighted Agai'batti
(joss-stick) rotated by the hand. One gets the illusion of
a golden, effulgent ring, but in reality the circle of ring
has no existence apart from the whirling movement of the
glowing AgarbattL Stop the movement and the golden
circle is no more!

The delusion of a shining brilliant ring of gold
was given rise to, because at every movement the lighted
point was moving and occupying, as it were, all the points
in tlie circle. But, to the mind of an innocent child, the
golden ring is so me tiling absolutely real, solid and
luminous. Similarly, we, in our poverty of intelligence,
petty human desires, selfishness and mis-under-
standings, instead of realising the priceless heritage the
great Masters have given to us in the shape of Veda-s, die
golden keys to the Treasure-Houses of Hinduism, waste
our life in chasing the shadow for the substance and in
running about aimlessly. Spiritually starved, we have
become a nation of proud Hindus, making a mockery of
Hinduism.

Sit up! Awake! Prove yourself worthy of the
glorious heritage. Unlock die doors of the wonderful
Treasure-House. Make India regain her great Spiritual
Empire. "Let us be HindusW"

If we explain that the mind is die incessant flow
of thoughts, to cognise that flow of thinking, we need a
light. We can read a paper.in day-dme because there is
sunlight. The writing on die paper is not self-luminous.

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KENOPANISAD

Where there is no light, the inert thing cannot be seen.
Similarly, thought is not self-effulgent. We can see the
flow of thoughts only when we close our eyes and not
while they are open.

Subtler than the physical body are thoughts,
and the Jloio of ihouglus, i.e., the mind, is illumined for
us by the intellect. Thoughts, which are the products of
the mind, seem to posses a vitality greater than the body
and while most of us would with comparative ease feel
convinced that the body cannot be real, everlasting or
true, we would not be able to discard the mind so easily.
Being nearer to the Centre, the Atman, it has an aura, a
glory and a vitality, although only reflected, having all the
appearance of the Real.

The Atma-Prabhava is transmitted to the mind
and in that glory, it functions. It is this light that illumines
the mind and gives it a semblance of Reality. When
thoughts are illumined for us, we have the understanding
of the thoughts. The existence of a state of worry, anxiety
or happiness in our mind is understood by us under the
illumination of the intelligence of the intellect. That we
are living so very near the Centre of Truth, Is not obvious
to us. For, in the secret chambers of the very obvious,
resides the Lord. Because it is so evident, we invariably
fail to understand it.

The light that illuminates the thought current
in us is called the ‘Cif. So then, the thought current is
the mind and the mind has got an existence because of
the wondrous Light that Illuminates it. How can it reflect
for you the light ‘SUPREME'? The Atman ( Caitanya ) within
illuminates the mind and gives out a semblance of light,
and it is with the help of this light that it is moving about.
The mind gets nearer to reality than our physical body
can. tlirough its sense-organs.

But we. In our preoccupations with life, refuse
to look into the within - the Centre of Light, the Light of
Truth - but fix our gaze turned ever outwards! We attach
much value to tilings - material, gross and physical. We

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miss the Divine Spark and see only the reflected beam!
We applaud a modern scientist, a psychologist, who has
thrown some light as to the secrets of the psychical
elements or the superficial human characteristics. If
reflected light can give so much glory, then what would
be the condition and glory of the One who is the very
embodiment of Truth?

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KENOPANISAD

THE CENTRE OF THE CENTRE

^ qfwjHihd im II

Yan-manasa na manute yena"hw‘ mano matani;

tadeva Brahma Warn viddhi nedam yadidam-upcisate.

that which - *fwr - by the mind ; a - never ; ajtt
- (one) can never feel ; ha- because of which ; sag: - (they)
say ; aa; W^-mind is called by its name ; - That alone;

W - the state of Brahman ; - thou ; fahst-know ; a -

not this ; aaythat; S^f-this (here); awh - (man) worships.

(5) What one cannot feel with the mind, but

because of which they say that the mind feels.know

That alone as Brahman and not tills, which people do
worship here.

As a result of self-forgetfulness, the Supreme
Spiritual Centre seemingly comes to experience and feel
for Itself a super-imposed sense of limitation and the
consequent confusions. This very 'ignorance of the Self,
expiessed in the intellectual zone, is the Self-veiling
negative Lhoughts ( Avwana} and the same ignorance
actively functioning in the mental arena gives rise to the
stormy insurgence of mental agitations called Viksepa.
Identifying ourselves with this mind and intellect in us -
veiling and agitations - we come to recognise that the mind
is the potent factor in us and that the glory of man is
entirely due to his intellectual capacities.

1 he sharp intellect of the Rst-s. dissecting and
observing life, to discover its Ultimate Reality, did not
spare even man. Like a scientist of today, who would in
his appetite for knowledge, dissect open an innocent

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guinea-pig merely Lo observe the behaviour of its liver, the
great Rsi-s also stripped naked the personality of man to
observe the core of vitality in him. Thus, they discovered
that the belief in the potency of the mind is but a
transferred glory experienced in the feeling-and- thinking
instruments in man. Mind in itself, being but a product
of food (matter), cannot have, as such, any life-potencies.
If the mind looks as though it is alive and is vibrant with
consciousness, its vital activity is because of its contact
with the Source of Life - the Self.

The labour of the teacher in Kenopanisad, is to
arrest tire disciple’s attention from its usual channels oi
superstitious beliefs and direct it towards a nobler line of
thinking by which he could independently become aware
of his own Real Nature. Thus, here, in this stanza, the
Master says that the Principle of Reality cannot be cog¬
nized by the perceptions of the mind but, at the same
time, all the mind’s ‘capacities to perceive things’ can
function only when the mind is presided over by the 'Life
Aspect’ in it.

A bulb has no light of its own but it becomes
incandescent when it is energised by the current. Thus,
the current is that which makes the filament in the bulb
glow; but at the same time the illumination in the bulb is
not itself the current. Similarly here, the mind cannot of
its own accord feel spirituality, but all the feelings of the
mind are possible only because of its contact with the
Spirit.

We have already seen how a driver cannot get
himself run over by the very same car he is driving. The
moment the driver comes in front of the car, since it has
no independent movement of its own, the car stops!
Similarly, when the mind takes a ‘right-about-turn to
face the Conscious-Principle, it becomes naturally in¬
capable of perceiving anything. An inert pot cannot per¬
ceive anything that is happening around it. Similarly,
bereft of the Spirit, the mind has only as much power of
perception as a pot in the kitchen!

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KENOPANISAD

During Upasana (devotion), the devotee is apt
to feel that his mental vision of the Lord is the Supreme
Reality. This has been absolutely contradicted in the
uncompromising and unequivocal statements of the
Upanisad. A devotee may come to ‘see’ or he may ‘feel'
that he is seeing, in an ecstatic experience, visions of
Rama or Krsna. Whether it be the inner vision of a Devoid
or the outer vision of a cinema star, the mental vision is
only a ‘vision’, and it cannot be of the Supreme Reality.
The R$i here says. That alone is Bralvnari by which the
mind comes to perceive things which of its own accord it
cannot perceive and ‘not that which you worship here in
the world’.

Here, it must be carefully noted, that the
intentions of the Rsi-s are not the same as (lie intentions
of the atheists. They are not here crying down the faith of
people in Upasana and worship. It is said here with a
sacred intention of shaking the spiritual seeker from the
Sadhana-rut into which the wheels of his progress have
entered and have got themselves jammed! They are to be
hauled out with a jerk, and thus, there is no severity at
all in this statement, if one correctly understands the
purport and intentions of the-Master.

, . The Life-Centre in us, in the presence of which

the mind seems to be moving about, and because of which
it has got an existence, is the Total Centre of All, the
‘rvw' 1 ’ 6 ° . t -' eni - re that vitalises you and me, the
CAll ANYA that would be vitalising your children and
grandchildren, the Total Truth - Brahman.

The mind being but the unceasing flow of
thoughts. Line cessation of thoughts' brings about the
Knovvledge of the Power behind the mind. The process of
restricting the area over which our thoughts roam about
can be achieved by regular and continuous practice of
Japa, Dhyana , etc. This process of limiting our thoughts
by concentrating them in Japa, etc., helps in transforming
even our character. We are the product of our thoughts.
What we think we become. The nobler our thoughts, the
nobler we become.

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So Jcipa and Dhydna serve Lhe dual purpose
of limiting thoughts and changing our nature. In the
course of our Sddfiand. mind gets gradually restricted to
Lhe form of Joy. the Lord. From the concentration on the
entire height of the Lord’s Form, we come to fix our
concentration more and more upon the divinely sweet
smile on the lips of Lhe Lord. Ultimately, even the form
loses its meaning and significance for the Sddhaka. when
he realises the Bliss in its purest form, without a physical
form, and without any lip or smile. In Die maturity ol
practice, in Lhe knowledge that the Bliss is that in which
he is enveloped and pervaded, he cries out his vivid
intuitive experience ‘I AM THAT’.

The goal of the seeker after Truth is BLiSS
ABSOLUTE and Vedanta shows the path to reach this
goal. Vedanta is nothing if it is not a universal Religion.
It will make a Hindu a better Hindu, a Christian a better
Christian, a Mohamedan a better Mohamedan. When we
dive deeper and deeper, we realise that our real nature is
BLiSS ABSOLUTE. Let us surrender to the LORD, and
understand Him to be but Lhe Real Self in us. When we
have realised Lhe Self, we have realised every deity known,
every prophet born, eveiy Seer living.

A CAUTION

in our discussion so far, we saw that the
teacher was explaining to the disciple Lhe Source ol All
Life within ourselves, called (lie Atman. Although you
must have noticed that the Master has been referring to
one or Lhe other of the sources of knowledge (the Indiiya-s]
and concluding that the_sense-organs function because
of die Caitanya or the Atman in us, he had earlier said
that it is the ‘Eye of the Eye', ‘the Ear of the Ear, Lhe Mind
of the Mind’, etc., and in Lhe concluding stanza he had
further elucidated that It is That ’which Lhe eye sees not,
but with which Lhe eye sees’, it is that ’which one breathes
not but by which one breathes’. It is that ‘which tire mind
cannot reach but because of which Lhe mind functions'.

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Thus, the Master has in so many different ways explained
to us this Centre of Centre, the Atman, to be the source
of All Knowledge and this explanation has always been
with reference to the various sources of knowledge that
we are blessed with. He has never told us directly that
such and such is Knowledge or that this is the Soul. He
has only explained all the circumstances to make it
circumstantially evident what the Self is . The eye that
sees, the breath that breathes, the ear that hears, the
Longue that tastes, etc., when closely observed, are found
to be impotent without an independent Life-Force in them
and therefore, there must be a Source of Life which alone
can vitalise them to perform their allotted functions.

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CHAFFER I

9 I

M ^ 5 ^ um

Yaccaksusa na pasyati yena caksugiiisi pasyatu
tadeva Brahma tuam viddhi nedam yad-idam-upasate

^t-that 'which ; ^^T-through the eye ; a - never ;
TOfir- (one) sees ; - by which ; - the eyes ; Wlfir

- (one) sees ; gtF^ - That alone; sf^r - the State of Brahman ;

thou; know; a 5^F- not this ; that; (this)
here ; aara% - (man) worships.

(6) What cannot be seen by the eye, but by

which the eyes are able to see.Know That alone as

Brahmar i and not this, which people do worship here.

The idea expressed in the previous stanza is
again repeated here taking the example of the eye per¬
ceiving its forms and colours in the outer world of objects.
The eyes do not see; the eye is only the instrument of
seeing. The ‘Seer in the eye’ must be something different
from eye itself and the Conscious Principle that works
behind the eye is the Eternal Subject, which is the
fundamental Truth sought by the Vedantic Seeker.

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73 ^ffcq^HWd ll^l)

Yacc/irotre/ja aa s'rnott - yena sroh'am-idam srutanv
tadeva Brahma Ivam viddhL nedam yadidam-u.pd.sdte.

- that which ; - through the ear ; - never ;

T’trfo - (one) hears ; - that because of which ; - ear;

. - this ; - is being heard ; ^ 13^ - That alone ; ^

- the State of Brahman ; thou ; fafe know ; 1 5^- not
that; ^ - that; - this (here); shi*hu - (man) worships,

(7) What cannot be heard by the ear, but by

which the ears are able to hear . know That as

Braltman and not this, which people here do worship.

^ ie same old idea, that behind the finite or¬
gans of the body, mind and intellect, there is a Conscious
Principle, has been more and more brought home to the
student s intellectual appreciation by yet another anal¬
ogy. Bralimaa directs the ear towards its object, the
sound. A dead man’s ear cannot register any of the finite
sounds, since the ear in itself is not the hearer. A
gramophone in itself can enjoy no music!

The rest is all as we have explained before in
the earlier stanza.

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II ^ WT’* W*§'- U

Yat prapena na praniti yena pranah prapTyate;
tadeua Brahma tvahi uiddhi nedam yadidam-upasate.

- that which ; - by the vital air; ^ - never;

’-ii frith - breathes ; ^r=r - that because of which ; xtr: - the very
vital air; JFfta^r - is breathed ; - That alone ; st^r - the

State of Brahma# ; thou ; lhfi& know ; R * not this

; that; this (here); sirrah (man) worships.

End of Part I

(8) Thai which one breathes not with his breath,

but by which breath is breathed. know That to be

Brahman, and not this, which people do worship here.

In the last of the series of the examples taken
from Uie body organs by the great Rsi-s, here we have
again an explanation of how the matter envelopments, in
themselves impotent and lifeless, generally come to ex¬
hibit a semblance of life, because of their contact with the
‘Spaj'k of LiJ'e in the person and which is known in
Vedantic philosophy as the Atman.

A piece of iron has not got any heat-potency of
its own. But when the piece of iron comes in contact with
lire, it begins glowing, as though it were a piece of kindling
fire. If a piece of iron happens to be very hot, we know
from our experience and knowledge, that its heat is
derived during its contact with fire. Heat is not the nature
of the iron-bar. Similarly, life is not lire quality or the

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KENOPANISAD

property of the sense-organs. The Indriyas can cognize
their respective objects only when there is the Caitanya
behind them vitalising them. Thus it is only when the Life
Source in us is connected with he sense-organs that hey
seem to be alive.

A piece of wire, in its own nature, has no
capacity to give us any ‘shockand if a piece of wire does
so, it cannot be a mere wire, but it must be in contact
with a live circuit. It is not he wire that gave us he
‘shock:’; it is he ‘current’ flowing through it. So far, the
labour of he Gum was to point out to us the Self, with
reference to or as conditioned by he mind and he
intellect. You have read in history he story of he con¬
queror AHauddin and Padniini AUauddin wanted to have
a glimpse of the divine beauty of Padmini. But she, he
true Indian Pativrata, would not allow herself to be openly
gazed at by he Muslim conqueror. At last arrangements
were made to give Allauddin a cLcu'&an of Padmini as
reflected in a mirror. The outcast soldier had to be
satisfied by looking at the reflected form and beauty of
Paclmint his eyes could not ‘see’ he real Padmini of flesh
and blood. Similarly, we being‘outcasts’ in the Atma- Loka
cannot be given a direct daj’Sana of he Pacbnini in us.
The Guru, therefore, arranges a reflection of her for our
gaze, as it were! All descriptions and narrations of the self
in he Snjti-s can only be a reflected glory of Pure Exist¬
ence, (the Sat - cit-d nanda) within ourselves; we can be told
and we can understand only he Self, as reflected in he
various avenues of Knowledge we have got, viz., the
Inch iy as, mind and intellect. The Guru cannot and will
not introduce us face-to-face wih the Self, as ‘this is he
Self. All that he can do is to show us the Piabhava of the
ALnian. as evident in he workings of the sense-organs
and in the functions of he inner instruments.

It is something like our conception of Lhe State.

The State is not in Lhe King nor in the ministers. It is
neither in he standards nor in he people, and yet it is
the might enveloping all. In it we function, in it we the
governors and he governed have heir individual rights

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and duties. Similarly, the Self is a might of Truth dwelling
in us and pervading about us: it is not in any sense-organ
ca and yet all the sense-organs exist and function because

of the Self. The eye and other members, in themselves
though impotent, inert and helpless, when they subscribe
their selves to the ‘State’ in us gain potentialities and
become vital‘citizens’. The ‘State’ in us is the Atman or the
Self.

Thus, so far we have dealt with, in the first
chapter, only the conditioned Atman* and not the Pure
Truth, the Absolute Self. The Supreme Reality is known
as the Absolute because of its infinite nature, inexplicable
in terms of finite words. We cannot produce the terrible
noise of the rolling thunder through the frail melodies of
a flute. Similarly, words cannot represent or express fully
the roaring silence of Pure Consciousness. In their at¬
tempts at reaching the Absolute, words pant and iall
back, as it were!

So then, the only way to explain It, is to explain
the conditioned Atman, that is all that words can do. It is
just like explaining the electric current in the wne.
Electricity by itself is absolute in the sense that it can _ e
felt and measured but not perceived by our eyes dii ec y.
And yet the current has many manifestations, sue a
light in bulbs, heat in stoves, cold in refrigerators, e .
The light in the bulb is not electricity, but its maniiesc
. tion when it passes through the bulb containing

filament. The conditioned sun would be its reflection, say
in a cup of water and the conditioning would e - _
water-surface. From the conditioned sun, we have
conception of the sun, his glorious nature ot hg ‘
even heat. But to consider that we have known _ e
from a vision of his reflection would be a lie! Thus
being beyond words, the only way we can give an i ea
the Self through words is through the conditioned Atman.

Thus all that we have so far gained is only a
knowledge of the Relative-Reality, the conditioned Atman,
and not of the Pure Self.

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And there is no other way to express, in words,
the Infinite, At best It can only be indicated in terms of
‘Its’ expressions through the matter-vehicles.The seeker
has to realise this Great Truth for himself, by himself, in
himself.

One may probably come to stop all the en¬
quiries upon and all the independent seeking for this Self
Divine, when one has understood intellectually all that
has been so far said in this chapter. This intellectual
appreciation of the Presence of Life is not in itself the
spiritual unfoldment. Each student must come to ap¬
prehend this Truth in himself, in an intimate subjective
experience. To emphasise this salient idea, we have the
following chapter.

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CHAPTER II

*T^PT rtT 3 #TT*#J rt *F% fafccldjt K II

Yadl manyase suvedeti dabhj'cimevapi
nunam tvcuh vettha Brciivnano rupam;
yadasya tvarii yadasya devesvaiha na
mlmamsyameva te manye uiditam.

- If; - You think; - “very well I know

; - thus ; - even a little too ; 15^- certainly ;

- you ; - understand ; aerm - of the Brahman ; "

form; ^ - that which is ; stft - of that; Thou ;
=That which ; arc*? = of that ^5 - in the Deva-s ; sw 3 - now
then ; qfa'fRH, ^ - is to be ascertained ; % to you ; ^ ' 1
think ; RiRwh, - that which is known (to you).

(1) The preceptor here hastens to wam hjs
disciple: "If you think, ‘I knew well’, it is certainly but UtU

- the form of the Brahman you have known is a * so
form of the Deva-s. Therefore, I think that what ou
thinkest is still to be ascertained."

The warning is probably because the Guru
could see in the face of the disciple a glow of satis aL
and self-confidence and pride at the understanding.

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teacher reads the lace and gives a timely warning "If you
think that you knowjhe Atman well, you are indeed a fool.
I have said that the Atman is the ’Eye of Lhe Eye’, etc., and
the same is the CaiLanya in the heavenly forms of the
Deva-s also. But because of these statements in the last
chapter if you conclude that you have ‘realised’ Atman ,
you are sadly mistaken".

A poor man might mistake that he has seen all
that is to be seen by merely gaining an entrance up to the
open portico of a palace. By standing at the outer door of
the portico he has seen nothing of Lhe glory of Lhe palace.
He has to enter in and walk around and visit the most
inner chambers of the palace, then only he can have a
thorough ‘idea’ of the luxurious magnificence of the
palace Prabhava. Likewise do not run away with an idea
that you have known the Self by what has been so far
heard. Walk in! Roam within! Watch, look, observe and
live Lhe palace-atmosphere. Enquire more and more into
the conditions, naturemand the lay-out of that voiceless
palace of Truth, the Atman. Gain, through the use of
intuition and intimate personal experience of THAT,
much intellectual comprehension of the Conditional
Ti uths. Delve deeper, realise Lhe Pure Existence: what we
see, hear, etc., are all Conditioned Truths. Pure Truths
lie behind and beyond all names and forms. And at the
i ealisation of the Pure Existence, all names and forms get
merged into That, for all that is there beyond the palace
of existence is non-existent!

The coat and the pant hanging on the hangers
have limbs and possess their forms and names. But even
if it be the royal lace- coat, it shall receive no salute even
from Lhe ordinary CoukidSv of Lhe palace. Your coat
hanging upon the hanger is not embraced by your wife,
nor your hanging trousers hugged by your children!
Neither the lace-coat nor your suit of clothes can excite
any emotion so long as they are not vitalised by the
wearer! The Icing puts on the suit and every one adores,

1. Watchman

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reveres and respects it. Similarly, the police-officer’s kit
gets no salute as long as it is hanging on a peg; but the
moment he wears it, every one salutes it! So also the
physical body has its respect only when the Suomi, the
Atmon, is within it. The moment the Suomi has walked
out, there is no salute to Lhat corpse, no adoration and
no respect.

One of you the other day raised avery pertinent
question, The questioner asked 'SvamyL you say that the
Atman, as it were, walks out when tine body falls down, a
prey to rot and decay, a condition called death. But even
if the Cailanya has gone, there is existence for the mass
of matter left there in the dead body. Is it then right to
accept two different existences; the existence that has
walked out and the existence that remains?’First of all.
let this Sadhu register his deep appreciation for the
glorious student’s independent thinking. It is only a few
who can entertain such a doubt. This doubt can easily be
solved by an illustration. Yonder Is he wall on which
sunlight is spread out evenly. 1 take a mirror and flash
on the wall a beam of reflected light. The spot where the
reflected light falls is certainly a particularised spot,
brighter and more easily distinguishable in the sun- 1
wall area. We may, by tilting the mirror slightly, change
the position of the reflection on the wall. But wherever
the reflected beam is, beneath it would always be the hg 1
which is spread out generally all over the wall. The beam
from the mirror only adds to the intensity at its pom o
striking on the very surface.

Similarly, Truth. Pure Existence is spread out
everywhere. But a reflected pool of light is created, as i

were, by the individual’s mind-intellect- equipment l

antahkai'ana) which is the Ego in each individual, te
particularised entity is no more cognizable in the hoc y o
the dead; but the general alt-pervading existence is ic
bones, flesh, skin, etc., of the body. They decompose, but
the decomposed matter also has the general spread of the
Absolute Existence.

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KEN OPAN1SAD
*

Now 1 have answered your question. The coat
on the hanger has no ‘personality’ so long as the wearer
is not in it. So long as the Atman is not ’pervading’ over
any given name and form, it is not a living entity, but dead
matter. The house of matter, the body, is sacred only so
long_as the Divine Presence is gracing it. Once the Lord,
the Atman, has departed, the temple collapses.

The difference between man and man, man
and animal, and the consequent plurality are all caused
by the difference in the ‘reflecting’ surfaces but the Source
of Light, the Atman is the same. Only we have some
mirrors which are dusty, some clean, others convex, etc.,
like the differences between you and your brothers, you
and your uncle.

In other words, plurality is only in the con¬
ditioning and is consequently in the ‘conditioned Atman'.
n its reflections we see differences but the sun is ever
only one. Beyond the mind and the intellect, beyond the

I T r ,'Hu S ls * e Truth ‘ ^ vi taliser of them all, the Source
, , eir reflected glories. Conditioned Atman alone can

q ^P lain ed, discussed and grasped by the intellect. The
Scriptures and the Teachers explain only the Conditioned
+j ^ , re A(man Is to be experienced individually by

the disciple all by himself’.

, Often the Master repeats, at the end of the

Discourse, that what was discussed was only ‘the condi-
joned, remove the conditioning and realise the Self.
Chmmayaw as compelled to ask his Guru one day:
Siximyi, why not then remove the conditioning and ex¬
plain the Pure Brahman? Why say that It is the ‘Eye of
die Eye Without the eye-conditioning?" There was no
direct reply. The Satsamga was in full progress. Even
Uanmaya was slowly forgetting the doubt, as the lesson
pi oceecled. Ail of a sudden Sri Gum deua said; 'Cinmaya,
get me some water to drink.’ Surprised at this unusual
thirst in such a cold climate as at Gangotri and at such
an early hour, the disciple brought a clean Lota. A tumbler
of water. He placed it in front of the Guru.

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‘Whal is this?’ asked the Guru, in an assumed
air of anger. ‘Suomy l, this is the water you wanted.'
murmured the over-awed disciple.

‘But did I ask you for a Lot<57 roared the Master
'or for water? Take the LotO. away and bring me the water’.

‘But Svamiji, how. Lota. . without

Lots. . water. how water. Lola .' murmured

the agitated, confused and confounded disciple.

‘Never mind.’ said the Master, in a sojt en¬
couraging tone, ‘nobody can convey water without a
vessel. So too in conveying the Knowledge of Truth.
Absolute Truth cannot be explained in words. Just as you
cannot bring water without a vessel, so too we cannot
express Truth except through the medium of some-one
or the other of its conditionings. Hence it is that the Sruti-s
as well as the Guru-s explain only the Conditioned Truth,
instead of the Absolute Truth’.

Any amount of intellectual understanding of
the Conditioned Brahman will not take us to our goal. The
spiritual thirst in man can be satisfied only when he
breaks away from the shackles of his limitations and
soars higher and higher to his full divine stature of
Godhood. And this can be accomplished by die sadhoka
only through an intimate and intense subjective ex¬
perience of his own Real Nature to be the Eternal Exist¬
ence-Knowledge-Bliss.

To gain this intuitive experience, the instru¬
ments necessary are a purified mind and intellect. A mind
that tosses the least is called a pure mind. The tossings
are caused by desires, hatred, lust, passions and such
other negativities in our psychological make-up. The
mind, scared as it were, by its impressions (Vdsana- s)
throws out for us the external world of objects, just as Lhe
picture in the film-reel gives us the story on the screen.
The cine-goer during the show identifies himself com¬
pletely with the picture and comes to suffer or enjoy the
sorrows and joys of tire hero and Lhe heroine.

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Similarly, we have the external world, thrown
out for us, by the play of VSsaru5-s in us, as objects and
circumstances, forming among themselves the world for
us. Identifying ourselves with this world, we weep and
laugh, sob and smile, dance and roll. Torn between hope
and despair, failure and success, loss and gain, the
mortal lives the gruesome pains of a life of limitations.

The reality with which we should accept the
external world of objects and circumstances is only as
true as the reality, we claim for the 'hero' in the pictures
during our stay in the picture-house!!

But when we are entirely engrossed with the
outside world, the ATMAN-DARSANA, the vital, intimate,
subjective experience of our real self, becomes impos¬
sible. We have to remove the V&sana-s in our mind; such
a pure mind can no more throw any Intelligent ‘story’ on

the screen , and so we will not be forgetting ourselves in
our preoccupation with it.

The only known method of erasing the
Vasana-s is by scraping the mind clean! This is
ent t0 holding, say, a piece of sand- paper close to
the film ^ rolls’ in the machine room as it winds and
rewinds itself, revealing the 'story 1 to the audience. In
time, the scratches on the ‘film strip’ shall erase much of
rn, is ^ nc l c ^ arin ' Soon we shall see only a blurred vision
or filtered light interspersed with patches of darkness!

In the mind-film, the Vasand- pictures can be
erased by scraping it with Bhakti-SadhanG. consisting
mainly of constant repetition of His Names. Nitya-Niran-
tara-Igixu'a-Cinlana - constant remembrance of the Lord
- is the cleansing agent to be used if Man’s mind is to
be purified of its Vdsana-s. In a ‘clean’ mind Divinity comes
to manifest in all Its Absolute Glory Thou Art That’. Even
a rogue or a sinner can attain the final and supreme
concentration. ‘Here and now,’ is the promise of Vedanta.

Live in constant remembrance of the Lord.
Fight down the wrong negative values in your psychologi¬
cal make-up. Lead a pure life of positivity. Serve all. Love

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all. Be kind. Be pure. Be patient. Be tolerant. Be sincere.
Bathe your life in unrestricted limitless love. Surrender
unto Him and thus eliminate all selfishness. Rise to your
own Divine Nature.

Serve, love, purify, meditate and realise the
Godly nature through constant NARAYAiyA SMARANA.

PURE TRUTH

So then we have found that fire cannot burn
fire, though fire burns other objects that are thrust into
it. Water can wet all other things but not water. We cannot
say that the water of Ganges is wetting the well water even
though the well be near the Ganges. Similarly, the Ab¬
solute Knowledge cannot know Itself, because that
Supreme Reality cannot be known by the instrument of
Its own ‘play*.

We have been finding that all the descriptions
given by the Gurus were the descriptions of the Condi¬
tioned Atman. A play-ground is for students and children
to play and not for its own play; it cannot play in itseil oy
itself. The play- ground is only a field for the children to
play on. The field is not playing.

Similarly, the Supreme Knowledge is the field
in which these avenues of knowledge come to play an
therefore, these avenues of knowledge cannot by them¬
selves independently reach It. So then, when we find tne
Guru warning: "Don’t go with the idea that you have
known the Atman well, and if you think so, you are a oo .
we have to carefully inquire into it so that we may
understand the Conditioned Atman, Then we shall be a e
to get an idea of the Pure Eternal Self.

What you have asked me is only about the
Conditioned Atman as your question is, ‘what directs the
mind to go forth?’ I have given you the answer too, but
know you much better than you know yourself! I know
from the nature of your question that you are as Icing for
something more than the Conditioned Atman because,

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KENOPANISAD

you are a seeker of Moksa (liberation), and the Knowledge
of the Self alone gives us Eternal Supreme Satisfaction.
The disciple, in short, had asked for the Unconditioned
Atman. The Guru explains further to the Sisya and says
that the dynamism behind the eye which makes that
instrument see things, is- in Itself, the Life- Centre, the
Centre of Centre, the Eternal Blissful Atman.'

A villager visiting for the first time a city, in
wonderment would ask, ‘how is this bulb lit?’ And if his
friends are sympathetic, they will not stop merely by
explaining that the light is lit when the switch is on', but
will explain to him die current and the filament, etc., and
ms satisfy him completely. Thus, even though the dis¬
ciple asked for an explanation of the visible manifesta-
ions of the Supreme Reality, understanding the unsaid
query behind the question as a desire to know the Pure
, maf | or the Life-Centre, the Guru, in kindness continues
o exp am. So then, he says,.‘if you think that what I have
explained till now gives you what you asked for, you are
mistaken. I have not explained!’

The manifestations as light, heat, air, etc., are
hrsl explained to the villager and through them, he is
introduced to what lies beyond them, i.e., the cause of
a manifestation which is the power running through
„.f wire. Similarly, the Guru explains to the student, tire
italiser behind the ‘Eye of the Eye’, ‘the Ear of the Ear’,
e c., and then he says that if you think that this is Atman,

r a f-^ n mis tfh en . The Guru indicates that beyond
this Conditioned Atman, there is the Truth which has
nothing to do with the conditioning. The conditionings
ever keep on changing. The ear. nose, intellect, mind, etc.,
i! ^eed necessary for us to provide a proof of the
Vitality of the Life- Centre, just as we must have a vessel
in which to convey water. Through the conditionings
alone can we have an idea of the Life- Centre or Life Power,
First we understand it with reference to these manifesta¬
tions, and then we shall reach the goal and experience 11
without the manifestations.

>

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We have got here the warning that ‘if you think
you know well, you know very little\ because none of us,
not even the Masters can say that Atman is ‘understood’
or ‘known’, since the Atman is not knowable, but is the
knowing principle. Brahmarx or Atman is not seen, heard
or understood or known as an object. I can see this form
of the microphone, and you too can see this form, because
this form is different from me and you. You can see your
hands or fingers and admire their beauty in your spare
moments. Why? Because the fingers are something dif¬
ferent from the instrument of seeing, the eye! But you can
never see your eyes yourself! Similarly, the Atman that
sees, understands, knows and perceives cannot be per¬
ceived, known, understood nor seen!

What can we do then? When we have ended
our Ego. there is no question of the T. The Atman alone
remains then as a vital personal experience. There is no
T at all, at the end of successful Sadhand, so that this
despair need not be ours. We shall become Truth!

A man bathing in the river loses his gold
ornament and desperately searches for it repeatedly in
the water and at last gets it. His joy is inexplicable at the
moment of recovering it. But how will he explain his joy?
Under the water his sense of speech is hushed and so he
cannot express his joy at that very moment. Similarly, the
Atman is beyond explanation at the very moment of
experiencing it. You can only meditate yourself into it.
There is no T and ‘you’ remaining at all during the final
moments of Beatitude. This merger is possible,’ is the
daring assertion of all the Vedantic Seers.

Every day, we are living through three planes
of consciousness. What we see in the waking-state is
contradicted by that in the dream-state. The food that we
have taken in the waking-state is not available in our
dream-condition, because after a sumptuous meal, we
can go to bed, and yet, can experience, within a few
minutes, a dream of starvation. Also the moment we come
out of the dream-world, the feast we had consumed there
will not at all end our waking-state-hunger! What is real

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KENOPANISAD

in one plane is not real in another. When you go to the
deep-sleep-state there is neither the waking-state-wo rid
nor the dream-world; boh of them are contradicted!

There is yet another state of consciousness,
called the fourth state, discovered by the great masters
of the Upanisad-s, viz., the Tui'Xya State, otherwise known
as the God-consciousness. The plane of God-conscious¬
ness is thus the Fourth State. In this State of Perfection,
we shall realise that all the other three planes of con¬
sciousness are but a long, long dream. All Sadhana-s are
but conscious efforts to transcend the pain-ridden limita¬
tions and rise into the All-Bliss, All-Perfect-Realm of the
Fourth State. Now we do not have any experience of this
transcendental Fourth State or its Divine might, as we
have come to believe the Jagat- Dream as real.

A doll made of salt, tied to a string and dipped
6 ° ceanwi11 not come back when pulled up to report
the depth! The doll gets melted into the very form of the
ocean: the salt-doll was the ocean; It was born from the
ocean. But it has for a time an identity of its own and a

wT' once having reached the bosom ox its own
(dure, and remaining there for a time, it becomes the
very ocean that it Eternally was.

That is, the salt-doll-ego which exists as a
super-imposition upon Truth-Pure-Salt, assumed for a
me, certain false forms and names. But when actually

un t rG ° t “ e mass i1:s own nature, it got merged there
witn its own Svarupa. Similarly, in the Fouith State, the
iivnya State, because there is no instrument for Viksepa
(tossing of the mind), the Bliss of our oneness with the
entire universe is experienced.

On OM. we superimpose, as on an idol, the
three States of consciousness. OM is made up of three
sounds. A, U, M, wherein the Sadhaka superimposes on
sound A, the waking-state, on U, the dreamrstate, and on

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M, the deep-sleep-state. The long-drawn M-m-m-m hum
of OM is to represent the Tiu'iya State?, and the silence
between each OM chanted, is the final subtlest point to
fix the attention of the meditator. By then, the mind of the
meditator becomes so pure and steady that once he
succeeds in plunging into the depths of this Bliss-Silence,
his mind is no more there and he experiences the
Transcendental Truth.

The subjective Experience alone can give us
the Knowledge of the Pure Atman, Truth, without its
conditionings. In this subjective Atman-anubhava alone can
man reach the fulfilment of his life’s Divine Mission.

THE DREAM MIRAGE

We have so far examined the Illumination Fac¬
tor, the Caitanya in us, with the aid of a metaphor from
a beam of light striking a reflecting surface and producing
a pool of reflection. The reflection thus thrown forth by
the Intellect is called technically, in Vedanta, as
‘Citdbhdsa’, Cit, the Caitanya, or the Illuminator and its
Abhdsa meaning Its reflection. Just as the sun is seen
reflected in a pool of water, so Loo, the Citdbhdsa is
recognised in the mental pool when the Light of Truth
strikes the mind. This Citdbhdsa, thus playing a false
dallying in the mental theatre, is the false toy-monster
called the Ego. The annihilation of the Ego, it Is said, with
a divinely sweet persistence in Vedanta, is the experienc¬
ing of Truth. This being the promise given by the Sruti-s,
we shall be better equipped to undertake our pilgrimage
to Truth, if we know some intimate characteristics of this
Ego.

The Supreme Intelligence (the Atma-caitanya),
eternally self- effulgent, shines ever-bright at the Centre
of the Centre in the human heart. It gets reflected as it
strikes against our intelligence. As we are living today in

* Refer Mandufq/a and Karika discourses by SriSvanxIfL tor more
details on OM Upas an CL

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KENOPANISAD

*

a passionate hunt alter sensuous objects, our intellect,
along with our entire attention, is turned totally out¬
wards. Thus the Flame of Reflection, the Intelligence, is
slightly at an angle, like die hood of an angry serpent just
before it strikes. Naturally, a pool of reflected light is
thrown, as it were, in front of the original Supreme Light.

Like innocent children, who get frightened at
their own shadows, we fall a prey to many a hallucination
produced by our own misunderstanding that the reflected
light is die Truth Absolute. The reflection, as we know,
depends entirely upon the condition and nature of the
reflecting surface. At the moment of mental and intellec¬
tual agitation, the Citabhasa seems to tremble and dance
in mad revelry. When the intellect is dimmed by die fumes
ofjealousy, anger, passion and lust, the ego-centric entity
in us undergoes corresponding modification. Thus we see
one. who is ordinarily a quiet, innocent and decent in¬
dividual, under the stress of anger and lust, suddenly
deforming himself into a dreadfully ugly monster. In every
Dr. Jekyll there is a manifestation of Mr. Hyde, every now
and then. ’ J

So long as the intellect is turned outwards,
propped up by our mortal desires, this ego-centric
delusion and the consequent sense of separateness will
continue in us. With the sense of separateness, naturally,
the entire chains of sorrows come to shackle us and make
us victims of our own bondage. The attempt of a Sadhaka
Is to end these limitations and rise to a plane of existence
where he shall rest in peace eternally.

Bralvnauidya, as contained in Vedanta, caters
to this nameless and formless - and yet all the same most
poignant unrest of the Soul - by prescribing a certain
discipline of the mind and intellect. The extrovert nature
in us is the cause of the Fgo-sense: ending Ego is reaching
the perfect. When by practice or self-control, our sense-
organs have come to a certain extent under our control,
we the Divine-Lives, start the practice of enquiring the
self-Within, through deep and long meditation. This
Vedantic Sddhana when continued for a long unbroken

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109

interval, brings about a slow closing down of the ex¬
trovertness in our intellect.

We have already found that the intellect when
it raises its serpentine hood, in its outward running
nature, throws a pool of reflected Atmic Glory called the
Ego. When during Sadhand, the student, through self-
discipline, effects (develops) more and more introvert
nature, the false pool of light moves towards its origin,
until at last, when the intellect is entirely twned within,
the rejlection coincides with or merges into the Eternal, the
Reality. The Ego then gets totally sublimated and ours
shall be the transcendental experience of our own true
nature—Godhood. This is the fulfilment of our life. This
is Supreme success. This is achievement.

Truth, tire Self, which is the sacred theme of
the Upaniscid-s lies beyond the intellect, and It illumines
constantly the very intellectual experiences themselves.
So to declare ‘I have understood’ is not the final realisa¬
tion of die Consciousness by which I have recognised the
idea ‘I have understood'. Hence the student is advised to
continue his investigations.

This Final Experience of our Eternal Nature is
not an objective knowledge but an intimate subjective
experience. As such it is rather difficult for words to
express this deep experience, just as we can only mumble
eloquence and yet fail to express our deep love lor om
mother, sister or son! However much we may explain the
joys of eating sweets, we may succeed to an extent only
in expressing the grosser objective aspects ol U. We fail in
our attempt to convey the subtler subjective experience
of the taste of the sweets, as such! Hence we have the
disciple’s words in the following Mantra:

_

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KENOPANISAD

1 10

Naham manye suuedeti
yo nastad veda tad ueda

^ 1 II

no na uedeti ueda ca.
no na uedeti ueda ca.

T ■ never; a^- I; ^ - think: - (that) “ I

know very well ?ftr - thus ; ^ "not that 1 do not

know"; - thus; ^ - “1 know Loo"; (he) who; -T : -
amongst us; tliat; ^ - know ; -knows that; 3 'H

= not that I do not know; sfa = thus ; ^ - (he) too

understands.

(2) I do not think that ‘I know it well.’ But not
that I do not know; I know too. Who amongst us com¬
prehends It both as the Not Known and as the Known -
He comprehends It.

The Guru’s kind and critical warning was that
the Self is not known as an object other than the knower
himself, and that all such understandings are but the
comprehensions of the Intellect and Mind and not the
true Experience of Truth through the Divine - Eye, the
Intuition, The disciple’s answer as contained in the stanza
is quite revealing and expressive.

There is an entire drama packed in this single
Mantra: a drama of the student's inner mind. In utter
obedience to his teacher, he first admits that he does not
think, 7 know It well'. But, when he looks within, it is a
lie and so he confesses ‘but not that I do not know’. By the
time he has finished this much of a true confession, he
has become overwhelmed by his own intimate personal
experience and, therefore, he emphatically asserts 7
know Loo'. These statements would look like he mad-

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I I I

ravings of one who is not in his senses. This language of
confusing contradictions alone can be employed in
dramatising the feelings of the student who has really
risen above the ordinary planes of experiences and has
come to live the transcendental Divine Consciousness.

The student admits with reference to the
memories of his own Transcendental Experiences of Pure
Self, that certainly, his knowledge of it is not similar to
his knowledge of chairs and tables. An object other than
yourself can be known by you as ‘well’ or ‘not so well’, etc.
But your knowledge of yourself is not the same as your
knowledge of your son or wife. I know myself through and
through better than anything else in this world. The
Self-knowledge is a million times more subjective and
hence the Knowldege of Self-awareness is too deep to
express in words.

Words, after all, can express and convey
knowledge only through a series of references to known
experiences. In short, language must break in its at¬
tempts to express the inexpressible, because the Ex¬
periences of Truth is not an impression received by the
mind of an ‘object’.but is the Self-awareness of Pure
Consciousness, gained when the mind of the Soxihoka
gets annihilated through his Yoga Sddhana. Language
plays only in the field of the mind and intellect and their
death-dances!

The more the intensity of an experience, the
subtler become the words and the more loose the con¬
struction of the sentences. Hence, we have in this sacred
Manfra a statement seemingly self- contradictory but in
fact an expressive representation of the feelings ex¬
perienced. The student comparing his intuitive ex¬
perience of Truth with his ordinary sense experiences of
the world says, ‘I do not think I know well’. His knowledge
of Truth, though complete and full, is not, he feels,
anything like his knowledge of a table or a chair. The
knowledge of the objects of the world is gained through
the functionings of the sense-organs and through a

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KENOPANISAD

1 12

process of estimating the mental reactions caused by
them. But the student has gained, certainly, a very
intimate knowledge of the Self in him, and yet it is not as
'an object other than himself. That the Sel! is lecognised
as one's own real nature* is the uniform experience ol all

jy[ aS ^0 j-g

Though strange be the student’s discovery,
stranger seems to he his mental condition after his self-
discovery. He has realised that he is Knowledge Itself. And
yet. his difficulty is in that his realisation is not in the
knowledge of. but it is in the knowledge as: that is, he
has not realised the Self as w.e realise, for example, our
thoughts in us, but he has realised the Knowledge as

such Tq Lhe Western philosophers such an ex¬
perience is so strange and abnormal that they cannot
understand or appreciate the student’s mental situation.
Thus, in the foreigner’s unsympathetic approach, he
reads in the UpanisadicMantra-s nothing more intelligible
than, 'mere blabberings of a humanity in its childhood’.
And indeed, even to the modern educated Hindus, this
Manti'a is but the mad ravings of a youngster suffering
from hysteria and melancholia!

Though he admits that his experience is
something novel, strange and unparalleled, yet he is not
ready to accept it. because his awareness of It is so
intimate and full. The only way in which the poor mortal
in him could express the Immortal he is, is by quoting (or
with reference to) others who have experienced intuitively
the same Truth. 'Who amongst us comprehends It, both
as the not-known and as the known, he comprehends It.’

Agama (tradition of Masters) is Lhe only
evidence with reference to which one can express Lras-
cendental experiences. Even Lhe Scriptures adopt this
means and often put statements into the mouth of some
ancient Master or other. The same method is adopted here
by the disciple in Kenopanisad. when he tries to discuss
his inner intuitive experience of Truth with his Guru. 'Who

among us comprehends It.comprehends It, both as

the not-known and as the known, he comprehends It.’

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RMHdi r^idHMHd l ^ ll^H

Yasydmatajfi Lasya matcuh matam yasyci na ueda sab ;

Auynatcuh uijcmatarh. uijndtcim-avij anatom.

- He lo whom; - there is no com¬

prehension (about the Brahman); crPTWf- his com¬
prehension is real; wp- (the real) comprehension; tr
- to whom; 3 -is not; ffc - knows; T[: - he; 3-rfafTtFf (It is)
unknown; iW-HlH. - to the real Masters of^True
Knowledge; (to those who know perfectly well);
perfectly known; to those who know not.

(3) He understands It who comprehends It not;
and he understands It not. who feels he has com¬
prehended It. It is the unlmown to the Master of True
Knowledge buL to the ignorant It is the known.

This Mantra is a direct statement of Moilier
oruti explaining the Truth for the benefit of Her students.
The maximum that the words can do in explaining the
Infinite is to stale as she has done in the second line oi
the Mantra.

The moment we comprehended a liiing, il is
always through the instruments of our comprehension
and understanding. They being limited, they cannot but
fail in grasping the whole. Whatever words can express
must necessarily be something grasped earlier by our
understanding. Thus, as we have already noted, Truth
expressed can be but the conditioned or the limited Truth.

The stanza may also be considered as the
declaration of the Teacher himself. When the best oi his
disciples, after listening Lo the first chapter, answered the

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KENOPANISAD

I 14

teacher in a confused seif- contradictory statement as
contained in the previous Mantra . the lesser students in
the class must have either fell, stunned by it, or giggled
to bully the boy. Here the Teacher endorses that what was
stated by the pupil is quite acceptable and that it is the
only way in which the transcendental experience can be
expressed.

Language of intuition alone can soar to the
Realms of Pure Consciousness. Tiuih dejinecl in words is
Truth defiled. The Supreme Reality when experienced
shall be known as our own real Self. A pen in a dark room
when brought into the verandah may be considered as
illumined by the sun. But it would be absurd to say that
a thing in the sun is illumined by the sun: illumination
being the very substance of the sun. The function of
illuminating can have a play only where there in dark¬
ness. The Self which is Knowledge Absolute cannot be
known by another knower other than Itself. The sun never
illuminates itself since it is light itself.

KILL THE EGO

Some years ago a Marwari merchant of Bom¬
bay suffered six months of sleepless nights due to the
persecution of a bug that one night entered his brain
through his ears! Every fifteen minutes, and sometimes
oftener, the bug would creep around inside the skull
seeking for a more edible portion of the brain. The mer¬
chant went round the globe, meeting all the possible
specialists, and yet had to return to India with his pet
disease uncured. However, the merchant heard of a great
doctor in Lucknow and reached that city with newly lit-
up hope. The doctor examined him elaborately and
reserving his opinion to himself, declared that he would
try his best. Weeks passed. The merchant was almost
raving and hysterical as repeated sleepless nights of
agony mid pain broke down his nervous system bit by bit.

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I 15

One day the doctor approached the patient to inform him
that in case the merchant could afford to send a man to
the Western-Front, the doctor could exert his influence
with the Red Cross and procure for him, a special
medicine prepared by the Germans.

Any expense, if it could only relieve him of the
agonising pain, was cheap for the merchant. Again
months passed. Despair and hopelessness were choking
the merchant, when one day the doctor in all cheer and
smiles approached the patient and showed him a parcel
and said, ‘here is the medicine! Now the miracle will be
done. There are three tubes here; with one we can make
the bug swoon down for at least two, three days; the
second, injected after a week, would kill the bug; and third
would make the dead bug come out of the ears.’ The
merchant was naturally much relieved and felt extremely
hopeful. Was not the rare German specific for all bugs in
the brain procured at such a heavy cost?

The next day the doctor with half a dozen of
other specialists attended the patient in a well- equipped
operation theatre and adminstered the first of the three
injections. As told by the doctor the bug in his brain did
swoon, and the patient had a restful night probably, the
first night he had slept so soundly after many a month.
However, after three days, the bug had started as usual
creeping and crawling around, eating the brains and
burrowing holes in it! The merciless bug! A week passed.
Again the operation theatre scene was repeated and the
patient then onwards felt that the bug was really dead.
During the week the patient was not even once disturbed
by the enemy in his brain.

On the day when die last of the injections was
to be administered all Lhe medical college students were
called to be in the operation theatre. All the elaborate
precautions required for this serious and strange injec¬
tion of the costliest and the most rare German medicine
was enacted faithfully and last of the injections was
successfully carried out. After half an hour the patient’s
ear was carefully washed, and lo! in tine ear-basin was

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KENOPANISAD

1 16

seen floating a dead bug! The doctor lifted it with a pair
of forceps to the gaze of tire satisfied and contended
patient. The patient was wheeled out of the operation
theatre. The doctor went up the door and after closing it
carefully wheeled round to face the silent audience of
wondering students who were surprised that they should
be invited to witness but a mere injection!! ‘Friends,’
addressed the practical scientist, ‘you have been watch¬
ing so far tlie cure of a very painful disease for which the
patient could not get a cure all over the globe. And
strangely enough, the German injection bottles were
nothing but tubes of distilled water which I had procured
from the local chemist round the corner in the street. The
most difficult part of the operation was, confessed the
doctor, the hunt that I had to make yesterday night for a
live bug. When at last I got one I pressed it carefully
between my fingers in one end of my kerchief and
preserved the dead carcase, which was dropped into the
ear before washing it, and it was that dead bug, which I
had hunted out last night, that you saw in the ear! May
be the means are unfair but, for an unreasonable
patient s imagined diseases, the only cure can be the false
medicines of mere attributed powers’.

Viewed spiritually, we all are living the
delusions of the merchant. We are suffering the pangs of
an imaginary ‘bug’ in us. Identifying ourselves with the
Ego we come to entertain the wrong notions of‘I’-ness and
y-ness and the consequent sufferings, sorrows, limita¬
tion^ etc. Now we need a Lucknow doctor who

will kill for us the bug-in-our-brain, the Ego-sense, with
the idie medicine, the Atmci jndna, which, when its
purpose has been served, shall be recognised as nothing
new or rare but as our own Real Nature!

The Truth, ever effulgent in its own Light-Wis¬
dom-Power nature, presides over all our activities outside
in the world and inside in our minds. We found how this
Supreme Light gets reflected in the Intellect and produces
the 'Bug' for us, the Ego Pool of Light! And there, the

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I 17

metaphor was deliberately stopped so that you may get
some time to think over those ideas.

On realising the Real, the unreal vanishes;
when the Bhakta in devotion and love melts himself into
the Prabhaoa of the Lord of his heart, the experience of
this Para Bhakti is one of Supreme Consciousness. The
experience of ail Masters is the same at the point of final
culmination of all their Sadhana-s, whatever be the path
pursued. Truth is the central temple where the pilgrims
must finally reach. In the presence of Truth, at the
moment of his experiencing it, there shall never be an
experiencer seperate from the experienced.

The ‘VaisQavite-s who belong to the Mddhva
and Ramanuja orders, in their philosophies, based upon
duality, claim that the realised God ever remains eternally
seperate from an equally eternal quantum called^ the
separative ego-sense in the Sadhaka! But, to the Vedantin
in his realisation of the Non-dual Truth there is nothing
but one Homogeneous Experience of Divine Pure Con¬
sciousness at the summit of his spiritual perfection. The
Duaitin complains that if we become ourselves, Bliss
Absolute, who will then enjoy the joys transcendental?
They seem to be worried with a desire to enjoy although
it is of a transcendental nature. Tob the Vedantin. in his
extreme sense of renunciation, dispassion and dis¬
crimination, he has discovered the futility and hollowness
of an enjoyed-joy gained bv even the experience of a God
other than himself. The SrutL-s are unanimous in their
declarations that anything other than the Knower is false
and that infinite Peace can only be gained by one who has
come to live jn entire identification with the Self, the
Knower. The Sruti declaration, that It is beyond the known
and the unknown, the Knower himself, is self-evident.'’

Taking our metaphor of the reflection in a strip
of mirror, we may now make an attempt to understand
this process of the merger of the Ego with the Source of
Ego. Suppose a very powerful arc- light is placed before
a strip of mirror. We know from the rules of reflection that

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KENOPANISAD

1 18

the retlection would always be as far behind die mirror
as the object is in front of it. Supposing the arc- light is
three inches in front of the mirror, the reflection will be
three inches behind the mirror. The Knowledge Absolute
shedding Its Light of Intelligence is in front of the reflec¬
tion medium, our intellect. A spiritual aspirant, through
discrimination, comes to live the nobler values of the
higher intellectual life and thus gains slowly and slowly
a degree of introverted ness whereby the Pool of Light, the
false Ego, gets merged with the Source. The Bhakta
becomes meek, tolerant, selfless and divine. And yet, even
at that state of full divine life, the Sadhaka gains no
subjective experience of the Truth that he is.

From this state of spiritual progress, the next
lap of his pilgrimage is, what is generally termed as
Abhyasa, What actually happens when one continues his
meditation exercises is, figuratively speaking, that the
reflection medium, the intellect slowly gets moved nearer
and nearer to the object, the Light of the Self. Soon a state

comes when the reflecting surface is in contact with the
object.

When the arc-light on the laboratory table is
in contact with the mirror strip, what should we expect?
For a short interval of time the mirror would certainly
provide for the observer, a clear reflection. The reflection
is as far away from the object as the thickness of the
mirror, but at the same time it is observable fact that in
the heat of the arc-lamp the mercury surface of the mirror
melts off and the strip of mirror shall no longer provide
for us any reflection of the lamp. The reflection, since it
cannot go anywhere else, the SOslra-s say, has merged
with its source.

The intellect during constant practice of daily
meditation gets steadily moved nearer and nearer the
Self, until at last, in the white-heat of intense experienc¬
ing of that transcendental Truth Absolute, (lie false Ego¬
centric notions disappear, and the intellect merges itself
with the Infinite Ocean of Bliss and Perfection, our Real
Nature. That is the final experience of Samadhi, and in

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1 19

the perception of the Self through the intuitive eye, the
God-Man becomes the Self and shall not experience the
Truth as something other than himself. This is the dec¬
laration of all the Sruti-s, nay, of even the living Masters
of our times - not only in Hinduism but in all the known
religions of the world. This achievement, the real fulfil¬
ment of the life’s journey is within the scope of every
mortal.

It is this experience, so subtle and full, that
has compelled the great disciple in Kenopanisad to cry
out, as he has done, his vital experiences, in such a
mumbled jumble of words of seeming madness as in the
Mantra we are now discussing: He understands It who
conceives It not and He understands It not, who conceives
It’ The difficulty felt by the disciple is, that at the moment
of perfect God-consciousness, there is no T-ness left to
perceive It as an ‘object’, and the moment he is aware of
his T-ness he is not experiencing the state of Godhood.

We cannot have a false vision of the ghost and
the real understanding of the post at one and the same
time. The moment the rope is recognised, the serpent is
not there. Where the Ego is felt, God is not there. VedfuUic
realization of Oneness is not the monopoly of tire Hindus,
Sri Yung-Chia Ta Shih, the Chinese Philosopher also
sings:

"It is only when you hunt for It
That you lose It;

You cannot take hold of It,

But equally, you cannot get rid of It,

And while you can do neither.

It goes on Its own way.

"You remain silent and It speaks;
You speak and It is dumb."

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KENOPANISAD

All Yoga-s, be it Bhakti, jndna, Karma or Hatha.
are but different techniques to reach the same Perfection
by means of total annihilation of the inner enemy, the
Ego. ‘KilHhe Ego, die to live the Divine Life,’ so cries die
Saint of Ananda KutU: Listen to this call of self-redemp¬
tion. Act diligently. By pursuing the path of the True,
through devotion and love, reach the Goal of Perfection,
Thy own Self.

THE GOAL

In the Ego-less state of God-conscious ness
there cannot be the seer other than the seen. The atteniDt
of every Yoginin the field of self-perfection is a conscious
move to prepare his inner instruments of understanding
and perception to a single- pointedness and thereafter to
apply them in the adventure of discovering, in a quick
review, how all the various Yoga techniques are but
different methods of purifying and perfecting the inner
instruments and bringing them into the state of sharp
single-pointedness.

When once the Sadhaka has reached this per¬
fection, he strives to get himself detached from the physi¬
cal body-consciousness. The outer world exists only with
reference to our consciousness of our body. The moment
we leave our body-consciousness, we are not at all aware
oi the sense of the world-objects and their sorrowful
persecutions. This may not be quite palatable or accept-
able to those who hear it for the first time, but it can be
subjectively felt and lived, as in our experiences of the
c ream- state or the deep-sleep state. In both these con¬
ditions of awareness, we are not conscious of our physical
body and naturally the physical world is also negated.

Thus, a Yogin with the help of his divinely
sharpened mind and intellect,_Lurns his gaze inwards
towards the centre of life, the Atma Tattua , the Self. To
get detached from the external gross envelopment of
mattei is to get ourselves identified with our real nature
as the spirit.

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The declarations of Sastra-s are thus simple,
direct and unambiguous. BuL a mere understanding of
the technique of the Brahina Vidya science will not give
its fruit and liberation from mortal limitations. The bar¬
barous junglemen of Africa cannot come to enjoy the
blessings of civilisation by a mere reading of the great
text-books. They will have to renounce their present way
of living, the barbarous values of life and take to the
cultured values of life advocated in those text-books. In
short, however often we may repeat, as Mahamantra, the
name of Aspro. we cannot gain the blessing of relief from
our headaches unless we swallow the medicine. Similarly,
for all the greatness of Vedanta as a philosophy, it cannot
and will not give u's any solace or joy. merely because we
have come to grasp its science intellectually. We must live
it; live it entirely. No compromise is possible. No betrothal
is a practical proposition between two opposite things.
Light cannot be where darkness is.

A Seeker starts his pilgrimage with renuncia¬
tion -- renunciation of the wrong negative values. This is
the negative aspect of a positive Sddhana. This is achieved
by not merely the efforts of mere will or determination,
but is hastened to a success by a positive cultivation of
the qualities of righteousness. When such a divine life
continues for long, his practices in any one of the four
main paths of Self-Perfection, he comes to gain a Divine
Power called Intuition. This faculty is now lying dormant
in almost all of us. Yoga awakens it, and it is through the
help of this newly discovered faculty that man reaches
his native land of perfection.

This intuitive perception of Truth is not in any
sense’of the term a perception of an object like the table.
Intuitively the successful Sddhaka becomes perfection
itself. Hence the Gum warns the disciple: "It is ‘unknown
to the man of true knowledge but to the ignorant It is the
‘known’."

Mere bookish knowledge will not help in fulfill¬
ing the edicts of Indian philosophy. Unlike the

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KENOPANISAD

philosophies of the West, for us Indians, a mere academic
understanding of an intellectual view of life is not
philosophy. To the Indian mind, philosophy is at once a
view of life and a way of life. A philosopher to us is not
a mere idle-dreamer or an intellect-spinner, but a hard
and factual man of life who should show us also a certain
value of liie and how best his philosophy can be lived and
realised. It is very significant in this connection to note
that the word philosophy is termed as Samskrt "Dar-
sanam", the emphasis being in the availability of those
ideas of realisation in the given life.

Merely hearing Vedantic discourses may give
the listeners a vague concept of it, but will not make the
listeners men ol perfection unless they are ready to live
as Vedantin-s in life. It is an ill-informed idler’s cry. that
Vedanta is divorced from life. In fact, there is no known
method of living a fuller life than by organising it upon a
firm foundation of the Vedantic values of Oneness and
Truth.

A true Vedantin is a balanced Individual:
neither he is over- intellectual nor has he allowed his
emotions to erupt into a dust-storm and sully the intel¬
lect. Discrimination and dispassion have developed his
intellect to an acute subtlety and in his practices of love,
kindness, tolerance, etc., he has expanded his mental
qualities and emotions. When such an equally powerful
mind and intellect are brought to play in a happy syn¬
thesis. in a given field of enquiry, out of the combination
rises, as it were, ajhird Divine Power in his bosom, called
the Intuition, theiJncinctCciksii. And LheSelfis experienced
through this instrument.

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stTjtrar ftralf^f ftracrswiwi

Pratibodha-viditam matciin amrtatoam hi vindate.

Atmand vindate uTryam vidyaya vindate’mi tam.

RRld^-when it is intuited in and through
every modification (of the mind): ham, - (then it is) the
right understanding : - Indeed immor talit y,

- attains; - through the _ Atm an: PFw -

attains: -real strength (vigour); - through

knowledge: - - attains; argcfT.- Immortality.

(4) Indeed, he attains immortality, who intuits
it in and through every modification of tire mind. Through
the Atman he obtains real strength, and through
Knowledge, immortality.

The Absolute Truth presiding in us as the Self
is ‘Known well‘ only when it is knowingly understood as
the witness of the three States of Consciousness. A
witness is one who is standing apart from the inciden
and who witnesses and views the incident without in any
sense talcing part in it. The witness has not even any
interest in the incident nor has he any prejudice against
it. Unmoved and uninterested, a witness beams on the
passing panorama in front of him. Similarly if Truth, t e
Self, were to retain Its status as the Eternal, the I mm or tai,
the All-pervading, It has to be a non-doer and a non-en¬
joy er --a mere dynamic witness.

The experiences gained in the waking-state at e
contradicted in our experiences of the dream-state and
botli these are negated in the world of sleep. And yet, the
same individual can remember his experiences in his
waking-state and in his'dream-state, as well as he can

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KENOPANISAD

remember that he knows nothing during the condition of
deep-sleep, it is well known that in order to remember
incidents or happenings, the experiencer must himself
have had the experiences. Unless I have lived an ex¬
perience, I cannot remember it; however good my memory
may be, I cannot remember any of your experiences. So
too, you must necessarily fail to remember the happen¬
ings in my life.

From the above we must conclude that there
is an unchanging entity in us who experiences all our
waking-life, dream-world and the sleep-bliss. The
waking-state Ego. the Mr. so-and-so entity, is not in the
dream-world. But on waking up from the dream, he
remembers that he had dreamt. That factor' in us, in
consultation with which we have this continuity of aware¬
ness and personality, through the different fields of con¬
sciousness, is the All- Witnessing Atman.

■ i Thought (bodharh) by thought (bodharn prati)

is mown (uidltam) the Presence of Consciousness Infinite,
ror, all thoughts are known to us: the knower who
becomes conscious of all thoughts is the Light of Con-
sciousness, the Supreme.

Thought is but a disturbance in the mental
stuff, a ripple (urtti) in the mental pool. As the thoughts
rise, dance and die down, it is the Consciousness that
i lumines the birth, existence, activities and the final
death of all thoughts. Thus, at each thought-disturbance
theie must be a flicker of the Consciousness.and this

Consciousness is intuitively realised as separate from the
thoughts that It illumines. One who realises This becomes
Immortal - Changeless. The change is in the thought-
flow. the illumining Light of Consciousness, as a Witness,
merely looks on the changing thought-procession.

To identify with this 'Witness' is to end the
thraldom of the Ego. Death and limitation, sorrow and
despair, success and failure, pleasure and pain, love and
hate and the thousand and one other poisonous weeds of
life that embitter life, all belong to the Ego. To the

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All-Witnessing Truth, Scuftsara is foreign, and to It Light,
Power, Wisdom, is the Bliss-content of the Samsara. In
this identification with the Self lies the secret of knowing
the Atman as beyond the ‘Known and ‘Unknown'.

lha ced-auedid-atha satyam-asti
na ced-ihavedfa-mahati vina${ih
Bhdtesu bhutesu uicitya dhircih
pretyd-smdllokdd-ainftd bhavanti.

^ - here; if (one) knows (That Brahman)

; - then ; - the true fulfilment (the very essence of

human aspiration); - is (acquired); T if not; ^ '

here ; - knows ; ^mtft - very great (is the) ; fr^-

destruction ; ^ ^ - in all beings ; - seeing cleaily

(the Atman) ; Thu - the subtle intellects (men); ^ " having
gone (risen); sprrRf- from this ; world (ot senses),

3^at: - immortals ; ’mrftt - become.

End of Part 11

(5) IT one Knows (That Brahman) here, m this
world, then the true end of all human aspirations is

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! 26

KE NOPAN IS AD

gained. If one knows noL (That) here, great is the destruc¬
tion. The wise, seeing the one Atman in all beings, rise
from sense-life and become immortal.

Kind Mother Sruti is here pouring out her
anxious Love, in a clear warning to her grown-up
children, that in this birth alone shall we attempt and
gain a degree of success in totally cutting away from our
bondage and shackles. Freedom is the birth right of man.
To seek and achieve it, he has taken his incarnation. After
thousands of lives in various embodiments, as a result of
the gallons of tears shed, the All-Kind Lord has given us
the rarest chance to be born as man.

An embodiment in a human form is rare in¬
deed. Even having got the form to have all lndjtya-s intact
is again an added blessing. Again, to possess a well-
developed and balanced physical, psychological and
spiritual personality is the result of, the Sastra-s declare,
many lives of continuous Tapascaiyd and devotion, Last¬
ly to have all the above qualifications and yet, to be
without a chance to hear the secret ^knowledge of the
I ruth Absolute, as contained in the Sruti-s , is to grope
endlessly* in thick darkness along an unending vale of
tears. Glory to you all! You represent indeed the cream of
generation who have gained by your own self-effort in
endless previous births, the rarest of chances to study the
Upani$ad-s and come to know at least the Conditioned Tru th.

° r y oi i is a representative of at least a
million in the world of mere two legged worms crawling
in filth, hapless and deluded. Hence, Mother Sruti says,
Great Indeed is the Destruction if one strives not and
thus fails to recognise himself as the AtmarC.

Without renunciation, no enduring successes
can ever be gained by any one, at any time, in the annals
of hum an endeavour. Nature herself Is roaring this truth.
The fishes must renounce their capacity to swim if they
were to gain the greater glory of gliding through space on
their wings as birds. The birds must surrender their

* Read Talks on Vivckacudamani of Sri Sankara* the opening
stanza ol the Text, by the same author,

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127

power of Hying if they were to rise higher in evolution and
reach the instincts of animals. The animals must slowly
give up their hardness and gross physical capabilities if
they are to gain the subtler power of a blossomed mind
and intellect. The ape-man. if he were to renounce his tail
and the jungle life, and lo! we have the coated-boo Led
insurance agent and the thundering politician. The last
stage in the pilgrimage of man towards God hood - towards
the state of Super manhood - is chalked out and directed
by the Srutt-s. The Masters of wisdom unanimously cry
that if man were to make one little renunciation he shall
step over to the Realms of the Divine. Renounce the Ego
and. be a God. And this is possible NOW and HERE. In
discrimination, learn Lo see the One Truth that lies
self-evident in every name and form. This is the greatest
worship and shall in the end take us directly to the
audience chamber of Truth. We shall meet Him lace to
face and get ourselves merged into HIM. Having seen God
tlie man ends by becoming God. - ‘Brahmavit Brahmaiva
Bhavati'

NOW AND HERE

We have tried to understand Mother Smti-s
anxiety at man’s futile existence in the pursuit of mere
physical desires and passions. She earnestly appeals to
man to recognise what a rare chance he has in being born
as a human being with all the Indriya-s intact, with a
well-developed mind and intellect and also with a
glorious chance to have the contact of Sat-pui'usa-s and
learn from their mouths* the Wisdom of the Sages. It is
her loving declaration and land warning that she expres¬
ses in her words, ‘One who has n.ot known That here,
great is the destruction!’

A wise man seeking for and discovering the
underlying Truth Principle, in all names and forms, lives
happily in the Wisdom of the Self. Such a one
'pretydsmdllokdC (having left this world) 'Amitd bhavanti'
(becomes Immortal).

Built upon this line and similar ones, we have

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KENOPANISAD

two schools of thought among the VecLaniins, one claiming
that perfection cannot be achieved unless one leaves his
physical body in death, and the other arguing in a dif¬
ferent line and coming to an altogether different con¬
clusion that the Sruti declaration points out that Godhood
can be reached even while living as a man in this mortal
world. The former accepts, therefore, only videha mukti,
while the latter recognises the State of jlvan mukti

Of these two, Sankaidccuya is a champion of
the latter view; and his arguments certainly seem to be
more appealing to all reasonable men. Chinmaya also
endorses, that all the present-day living Masters, whom
he has met so far, do emphatically assert, in words as well
as in their actions, that man can rise to Godhood and live
the Divine perfections even while he is in this body.
Self-realisation, is Here and Now.

Sri Sankaj'acaiya bases his arguments mainly
upon scriptural definition of the Guru, which we had
already examined thoroughly and we found that the Guru
is one who is well versed in the scriptures and well
established in God-consciousness. A mere knowledge of
the scriptures cannot give the Pundit die status of a Gum.
If an aspiring individual by his self effort reaches the state
of perfection ^pointed out by the Great Text-Books of
Brahma Vidya , he must die instantaneously if we were to
literally understand this line of the Sruti , and thus meekly
accept the Videha Mukti concept. But then, we shall also
never have a Gum, who is a Brahma-Nistha.
Sahkai'dcajya, however, concludes his arguments with
the acceptance of the jlvan mukti state.

Then what does the 5ruti here mean when she
says. Having^ left this world, he becomes Immortal?’
According to Sankara, it is not a physical disappearance
from til is world scene th rough the trap- door of death, but
it is the emergence of the individual from the mortal
delusory planes of existence, spent in the pursuit of the
lower animal values, to a higher planes of Divine Con¬
sciousness, wherein he revels as God Himself.

Anv/ta bhavanti - becomes Immortal, is the

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fruit, promised by the Sruti, for a man who has perfected
himself in Vedantic Sadhand. The individual body-mind-
equipment, being products of matter and consequently
finite, cannot be Immortal in any sense of the term.
Perishable as they are, how could a Saint be said to enjoy
Immortality? The right view in which this portion of the
Sruti is to be understood is not in its literal sense but to
the suggestive meaning of these pregnant words.

Self-discovery is a process of ending our false
identifications and building up our true nature as the
Self. Having thus once understood, through a vital sub¬
jective experience, that one is the Immortal Soul and not
the mortal body, we shall no more have the agonizing fear
of death; to him death has no sting; to him death is but
an incident in his life, as insignificant and common as
one of the ordinary meal times or his daily dip in the
Ganges! To him death is but a change of clothes: nay it
is like stepping out of the cage of stink and filth, where
he is compelled to act the part of a slave to the limitations
of the dream-body, in which he is. so far, compelled to
stay, out of respect to the Lord.

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CHAPTER III

The third chapter contains a story, which is a
symbolic representation of the truths so far discussed in
the Scriptures.

The Gods once won a victory over the demons
with the help of the Supreme Truth, but blinded by their
success they started gloating over their achievements. In
order to bless the Gods, the Absolute Truth, in the form
of an enchanting Yak$a, gave a Vision to he Gods. The
Gods surprised and amazed at the unusual glorious
Vision against the yonder horizon, approached Lord Agni 1
and requested him to make personal enquiries and as¬
certain the identity of the Adorable Spirit. Lord Agni
consented and hastened towards the vision in full
confidence oi his own might and power. On being inter-
rogatecl by the Supreme, Lord Agni boastfully declared
that He is the mighty Lord of Fire, who can scorch
universes at will. The Supreme Lord placed a piece of
grass in front of Lord Agni and requested him to reduce
it to ashes, if he could. For all his vehement attempts the
God of Fire. Lord of Meteors and Suns, could not even
warm the grass-blade, even by a degree. Thus completely
crushed by his failure. Lord Agni returned. And to all the
enquines oi the waiting crowd of Gods he only replied
with a shrug of his shoulders, "! don’t know".

The curious denizens of the heavens, for the
second time, chose Lord Vayu 2 and sent him on a

1. Lord oi Fire,

2. Lord of the Wind

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commission to enquire and ascertain the identity of that
strange Vision. Equally proud and vain- glorious, egoistic
and self-conscious, this mighty God strode forward to
enquire and to know and gain a better status for himself
over Lord AgnL

The Mightiest of the Mighty, who has taken
unto Himself a form in time and space - I mean that
Adorable Spirit - inwardly laughing at the arrogance and
upon the approaching heavenly agent As before, the
Yaksa asked who the visitor was. Lord Vayu disclosing
his identity and status boasted that he is the mighty
trodder of the skies, who can as though in play, toss the
universes hither and thither as though they were paper
balls and balloons. The Ycdcsa placing the same old blade
of grass in front said, ‘Please move this a bit if you can in
my presence’. Without Him and His grace who can ac¬
complish anything? Poor Lord Vayu had to return in
disgrace at his own strange and sudden impotency.

When the Gods thus found both Lord Ayniand
Dayu failing in their commission, they en masse made a
deputation to their Sovereign King, Indj'CL Accepting the
commission entrusted to him by his divine populace, the
faithful King made a royal pilgrimage towards the
Adorable Spirit. Seeing the approaching Royal Visitor, as
though to register an extreme contempt and to make the
King of the Gods feel His significance, the Supreme chose
to withdraw his manifestation as the tantalizing Vision
against the heavenly horizon. But Inch'd was not in any
sense of die term blindly ego is Lie as the boastful self-con¬
ceited earlier investigators?The Ruler of the Heavens was
not despaired at the disappearance of the Vision: on the
other hand, the very disappearance added a greater
poignancy to his earnestness to know.

Instead of turning bade from his sacred quest

he strode forward — hoping, expecting, wishing!.Lo! At

the veiy spot from where the Supreme'had disappeared.
Goddess Uma, daughter of Himauan, a splendour in
precious stones, appeared to bless the honest seeker in

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KENOPANISAD

t

Inch'd. From her, on enquiry, /ncira heard in devotion, that
the Yaksci was none other than the Eternal-Non-dual-
Truth in assumed name and form manifesting to bless
the Gods, by warning them against their stupidity in
believing that they had won a victory over the demons.

THE INNER ESSENCE

The story in itself, when read as such, is but a
skeleton, fit to be no greater a work than an Arabian
Nights Tale. But, in fact, to the assiduous seeker, who is
approaching this seemingly childish story of the Yak$a,
there are depths of significance to investigate, under¬
stand and profit by. We must make an effort to grasp the
inner essence of this narration in th6 Soitt

In this story we have an exhaustive restate¬
ment of the Upani^adic Truth so far discussed. In it we
have a gloriously successful attempt to objectify the
highly philosophical and subjective narrations we so far
had on the nature and significance of Hie Self.

In order to understand the full depth of the
stoiy a certain preliminary knowledge of the Sastric tradi¬
tions and beliefs is necessary. We have already discussed
how from the Unmanifest, the Manifest world emerged
out, in descending series_ of grosser and still grosser
matter. Thus we had file Akasa (Ether). Vdyu (Air), Agni
(fire), Jala (Water) and ultimately Prthvi (Earth) the Five
Elements enumerated in order of their grossness - the
Earth being the grossest.

We also noticed that each Element has its own
special quality. Akasa (Ether) has sound as its property.
Vdyu (Aii) has, besides the quality of the previous subtler
Element (Kthei), its own special quality of touch; air has
thus two qualities: sound and touch. Similarly', all the
subsequent Elements possess not only all the qualities of
the previous ones but also a special quality of their own.

* For a detailed discussion upon this topic please refer to the
chart in Talks on Aimabodha by the same author.

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133

Thus in Agni (Fire) we have sound, touch and its own
special quality. Form; in Jala (Water) besides the qualities
of Fire, the Water has taste, a quality strictly belonging to
the Element Water, In Pi’thvi (Earth), we have all the four
qualities of all the four preceding Elements and its own
special qualify, the Smell*.

This being so, the &astra-s. in their own
language, say that the Elements are the presiding deities
of the corresponding sense- organs that illuminate these
qualities. The ear. which is the apparatus to receive the
Akasa- quality, cannot and will not register from which is
the sense-object to be perceived by the ‘eye’ presided over
by die Fire.

With the above-mentioned Sastric tradition in
our mind, if we were to re-read the seemingly impotent
story, we shall discover its purpose in Kenopanisad.

Since there is not much of a difficulty in
interpreting the word-meanings in the story-part of this
Upants ad we propose to give below all the Mantra-s mid
their translations at one stretch.

f*

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134

KENOPANISAD

^ f ftfW, 3 w#rti

tT ^RTTFTRfi^FT f^5PT: 3TFTRi^R ^rfl^fcf il ^ tl

Brahma ha Deuebhyo vijigye,
tasya ha brahmaho uijaye Deva ainahTyanta.
Ta aiksant-asmakam-eoayam uijayah
asmakam-evayarh mahimeti

W f - Brahman ; - for the Gods ; - won

h victory ; <i**h ^ s^'u'i; - (though) due to th ^Brahman ;

- in the vie to 17 ; ^rr: - Gods ; - became elated ; % -

they ; t*srt - thought; - for us alone ; sran.- this

- victory ; spri^t^ - only to us ; this ;

‘ gJoiy ; *Er - thus.

(1) Preceptor: It is said that Brahman, once won
a victory for the Gods (over the demons). Though the
victory was due to Brahma# , the Gods became elated by
it, and thought: To us belongs the victory, to us belongs
glory.’

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^ ^Hcf, ■z^rfnffnR ii

Taddhaisam uijqjnait. Lebhyo ha pradurbabhuoa.

Lanna vyqj&nata. kim-idaih Yak$am-iLi.

that; their (vanity); - knowing well

%* a r; - (before; them ; - appeared ; ' that, t

"TTRct - never understood; ferf - which is; ~ this ; 'naj'C

- adorable spirit; ?fh - thus.

(2) Bralvnan^ knowing their vanity, appeared
before them; but they did not understand who that
Adorable Spirit was.

rT^rfcT II 3 II

Te' gnitn-abnivan. Jdtaveda etad vijanJhtJ•
kimetad Yaksam-itt, lalheti.

% - they ; - fire ; ateprf - said ; - All

knower ; - this ; - know well ; fa>T, - what;

- this ; - Great spirit (adorable creature) is ; - thus ;

- as you say ; - thus (He agreed).

(3) They said to Agni thus: 1 Oh Jcitavedal (All-
knower) find out what this Great Spirit is.’ He agreed.

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KENOPANISAD

3i 5*1*41 Wiqln, ^Trf%^[ ofT 3 ^R41fd ||V ||

Tad-abhyadraval, tam-abhyavcidat. ko'sTti.

Agnir-ua aham-cisnUtyabrauit
jataveda un. aham-asmiti.

^ - That; arrars^ - hastened ; - him ; -

asked ; ^ - who ; 3tf?r - are you ; - thus ; stfR: - either

Agni , I; arf^ - am; ?ftr - thus; replied ; wim^qi

- Omniscient; ^it - or ; 3^ - I; - am ; *fir - thus.

(4) Agni hastened to the Spirit. The Spirit
asked him who he was and Agni replied. ‘Verily I am Agni
the Omniscient.’

dfwi^Ri ft ^

I mil

Tasmigni-sLvayi kim vTrycim-ili.

Mjl> Qpidagm saruam daheyam. yadidam prthioydm-iLi.

VifV^ - of such a nature ; - in you ; - what;

power (is there); *fi[ - thus ; atfk - even ; - this ;

all , - I can burn ; ^d, _ whichever is ;

- on the eaith ; fftr - thus.

(5) He (Brahman), in the form of Yaksa, asked
him: 'What power hast thou. Who art of such a nature?’
Agni replied, 1 can even burn whatsoever there is on
Earth.’

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137

gut

dgMi^W 1^#T, rT*T Wn^F V%- l
^ rT?T ^ Piq^rf,
f^ng, i

Tasmai traam nidadhaveLad daheti,
lad-upapreyaya sarvqjavenci.tanna sasaka dagdhwh
sa lata eva nivavrte,

naitad-asakam uijhdtum, yadetad Yak$am-iti

- before him ; - a blade of grass ; _

placed ; this ; ^ - burn ; ifcT - thus ; that ; <

- (Agni) dashed ; - with all his power ; ticf - that ; *

TTTira - could not ; to burn ; W- - He ; _ a L^5 e ’

fnq« 3 ?l - returned ; -T - not this ; stTrarf- could , knasd.
to know ; - that which is ; spirit - thus.

(6) He, Brahman, placed a blade oi grass be ore
him saying, "Burn it!" Agni dashed at it with all his power.
He could not burn it. So he returned to the Gods saying,
‘I could not find out who that Adorable Spirit was.

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138

KENOPANISAD

f^Hdci ^S3tqf^3^T li'ail

Atha. Vdywn-abixivan,vdyaoeLad oydrilhi,
kimetad Yaksamiti;taiheti

3rq - then ; (to the) Wind ; (the Deva-s)

said ; ^t% - Oh (the Lord of ) Wind ; - this ; R’Hi-flfe -

know ; what; - this ; Spirit; - thus ; ?t*tt

- as .you say ; - thus (He agreed),

, n . ,, The Deua-s then said to Vdgu (Wind), ‘Oh!
He agreed Winds ‘ nnd 0Llt who Lhis Adorable Spirit is.'

^IdR^T 3}5H*HlRfl|£ II

Tadabhyadravat. tamabhyauadat ko ski.
Va U_ w 'vo.^aham-asmityabmuIi
tuciiai isud va oham-cisnilti.

^ that , - hastened ; ttq; - him ; -

i eplied ; ^ - who ; srfe - are you ; 5% - thus ; - either

Vayu ; a^- I ; stfer - am ; ^ - thus ; atra^- said ; wfw
or the Trodder of the skies ; - I; - am ; -

thus.

... ( 8 \ Vc ^ u hastened to the Spirit. The Spirit
askxd him who he was, and Vayu replied, ‘I am VW I
am really MciLarisva ’ (The Trodder of the Skies).

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139

Tasmigm-stvayi kirn uiryamiti,
a pi dag m saivamadadiya. ya.d-ida.ih pythivyam-iti.

dfViH,- (in) such (a powerful); _ in y° L1 >

what; power; r - thus ; aiflr - even ; this ; ^

- all; aTT^ta - I can blow away ; in this ; -

earth ; - thus.

(9) ‘What power resides in thee, why art thou
of such a nature?’ asked the Spirit. 'Why, l ean blow away
everything whatever there is on Earth.' said Vayu.

tFi ?miwrg,

V rfd TJef

ii

Tasmai trnam nidadhav-gtad-adatsveti.
lad upapreyayci saivcijavena. lanna sasaka alum,
sa tala eva nivavi'le.

nailad■ asakam uijhdtiuh, yadetad Yaksanriti

- for him ; a blade of grass; fhtdt - placing,

T3^- this ; - blow away; ?Rt - thus ; ettf- this ;

- having approached ; - with all his might; tRf- this

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KENOPAN1SAD

; T(W - could not; - to move ; ^ - He ; cm= ^ -

then only ; pM<jd - returned ; l - not; - this ; ;

could; to find; that which is; Adorable

Spirit ; fl?T - thus.

(10) The Yak^a placed a blade of grass before
him saying, 'Blow this away’. He approached it with all
his power but was not able to move it. So he returned to
the Gods and reported, 'I could not find out who that
Great Spirit was’.

cf^rfcTl

A Lhenclram-abiuvan-

O-ghavann etad uijanihi. kim-etad Yaksam iti. latheti.
lad-abhyadmuat. tasmat tirodadhe.

- then ; to Indra ; 3Ejer^- said ; the

Chief of Gods this; - know well which;

" ^is ; Adorable Spirit; - thus ; tmr - as you

say, - this thus; hastened; Wilcf- towards

it; fa<i^ - disappeared.

(11) Then llie Gods said to Inch a, ‘the Chief of
Gods, Oh! Maghaoanl (worshipful, or the possessor of
great wealth and power) find out who that Adorable Spirit
is.’ He agreed and hastened towards the Spirit, but the
Spirit disappeared from his view.

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CHAPTER 111

14 I

II ^ TT ^ : H

Sa tasminn-euakdse striijam-djagdjna ,
ba.hu-sobhcundnam Umdgrii HaimavatL
tagm houaca kim-etad YaksamdtL
Iti Trtigah Khcmdali

- He ; alVi^tr^ - in the very same ; - spot

(place); f^PT^- woman ; m wm - came to know ;

- extremely charming ; 3 *tt^ - Uma ; ' the daughter

of the Himavtm ; - (to) her ; ? - said (he) ; '

which ; x^- this ; W(- Adorable Spirit; *f?r - thus.

The end of part III

(12) And in that very spot he beheld a woman,
Uma the damsel fair-- the daughter of the snowy moun¬
tain Himavam He asked her who this Adorable Spiiit
could be?

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CHAPTER IV

Reviewing the story against a background
provided by the Sasb'ic principles we have already dis¬
cussed, we shall now come to grasp the VedanLic import
indicated and suggested by this seemingly childish story.
We found that the five phenomenal Elements represent
among themselves the sense-organs and hence we have
the Sastric injuctions which declare each one of them as
a presiding deity of each of the organs.

Viewing thus, we shall find that the Gods,
meaning the higher spiritual values of the life (love,
toleraitce, patience, kindness, charity, piety, sympathy,
etc.) having won a victory over the demons, meaning the
lower animal values of life (hatred, prejudice, anger,
jealousy, selfishness, egoism, vanity, etc.) with the help
of the Eternal Self, came to tumble down into a miscon¬
ception and^a deluded conceit, A Sadhaka , in his initial
stages of Sdd.ha.na,. is apt to grow vainful over his very
Sadhana and go around declaring about the hours he
spends in meditation, the higher qualities he is practis¬
ing, the experiences that he is having, etc. At such
moments, the Supreme Lord appears before the Sadhaka,
in the form of an Adorable Spirit, a mysteriously strange
and captivating doubt about the Nature of the very Reality
he is seeking.

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143

Again, the seekers of Truth, in their im¬
maturity, try to meet the Supreme as an object other than
themselves. The commission of the Agni to enquire into
the nature of the Vision and his failure to understand the
Yaksa, is a parable explaining to us a deeper subjective
limitation in that, the Truth Absolute cannot be ex¬
perienced as an ‘object’ either by the sense-organs, the
eye, the organ of action and speech. Lord Apm’s miserable
failure at burning even a thin blade of grass in the
presence of the Eternal Self, without Its blessings, is an
ample statement of a reliable fact that the eye is blind
without the ‘Eye of the Eye’ functioning; similarly, speech
is dumb without the divine ‘Speaker of the Speech’.

Shameful retreat alone was the lot of Lord
Vayu, who arrogantly approached the Eternal Power
claiming to himself an independent might enough^ to
sway, if he chose, even the universe. In fact. Lord Vayu
had to disillusion himself and discover that he could not
move even a blade of grass without the sanction and
warrant of the Power behind the Tokyo. Subjectively
viewed, we have found that Vayu represents the presiding
deity of the sense of smell and the reproductory function
in us. Ripped of its verbal vesture, it reveals in its
nakedness the Truth again, that neither can we' smell-out
Truth nor shall we preserve our species without the divine
potency gracing the reproductoiy organs.

In short, the despicable failure ol the two
mighty gods Agni and Vayu to investigate, understand
and know the exact identity of the Va/cga, is but a
restatement of the Upani^arfrcTruth dealt with already in
the first chapter, viz., (Anyadeva

tad. utditadatho auiditadadhU meaning, that it is different
from what is known and It is beyond what is unknown -
It being none other than the knower Himself

Lastly, the Divine instincts in the Sddhaka, the
Gods, en masse approach their Lord, the mighty Indi'a.
Inch'a can also be interpreted as 'incbiyanam - rqja\ the
Lord of the sense-organs, meaning, the mind. When the

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144

KEN O PAN IS AD

higher spiritual seeker in us thirsts to know and to
understand the adorable Self, he may, in his delusion, by
at first to grasp the Truth through his usual instruments
of cognition, the sense-organs and action-organs.
Naturally, he fails. But if his thirst for Knowledge be deep
and urgent enough, he shall certainly approach the Lord
of the Ind]'iya.-s, the Mind, and commission it for this
higher purpose of 'knowing the Unknowable'.

The mind of the Seeker, when it has gained the
Indra-sthiti, slowly and steadily approaches It, in meek
surrender and without any trace of selfish arrogance or
vanity, anxiously seeking to know. And on the Mind’s
approach, the very Vision of the Supreme disappears. As
tire Sadhaka tries to grasp the Reality within and ap-
proaches the Adorable Glory, his would be the experience

o-?, e , disa PP earance b* s very quest. Many are the
adhaka-s in the Vedanta Path, who at this juncture, in
J? ste ’ return t0 declare that the Yaksa is Non-existent.

R e jdl ati0na ist Lo ^' cians ^d the Nihilists among the
Buddhist s. are the examples of a hasty impatient Indi a
eturmng disappointed without reaching the goal of his

dhe story in the Sruti clearly hints at this
ar .4 o-f ^p^edy, and advises us. in the character of Indra
1 imate success, that we should not be impatient
5f ™ o mUSt fT aJl 1 and continue our pursuit until we get at

c- V l k P° wledge ofTruth - In short, he is a pure
edantic Sadhaka, earmarked for the final victory, who
has come to a perfect Indra-sthiti

^ bein g cowed down at the sudden and
, ex P ect ; e d disappearance of the theme of his enquiry,

u Ldj rn WlLh a heart beaming with hope and faith and
throbbing with a deep desire to understand and to know,
gazes on merely at the very spot from where the Vision
has disappeared—- expecting nothing, hoping nothing,
desiring nothing, wantingnothing.It is at such moments
oi inner calmness and fully awakened awareness do the
Yogin-s come to cognize, the Lady of Knowledge, Mother
Sruti.

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145

An aspirant, who has gained through la is Sad-
hand , such an. India- like noble will, divine determina¬
tion, sincere heart, desireless mind and an alert and
vigilant Intellect, is the fittest Adhikaii. for Vedanta. And
to such a fit student success is sure, if he be, as modest,
egoless and persevering as the hero in the SintL story.

Religion is not for one, who wants to make
some make-shift arrangements to escape the immediate
challenges of life. The one who runs into a temple to pray
and to beg when he loses his last tenner in a race- course
betting-season, is an intruder and a blasphemer of
religion. He is worse than one who has the mad idiocy
and the feminine courage to commit suicide at such
moments of tension,

Incha was not to wait long in thafstate of
excruciating God-ward anxiety’. The Lord of our hearts is
too kind and merciful to keep His true devotees, even for
a moment, too long in their all-out anxiety to realise Him,
Tlie wondrous Lady of Himauan, the Goddess of Brahma
Vidyd, born in the very caves of the Himalayan inner
silence, appeared at the very spot where the Yh/csahad
disappeared. To a matured spiritual aspirant, Sruti shall
always go out to console, comfort, lead^ guide and to
encourage him. It is from the mouth of Srlmati Himauat
Kuihfiri that Indi'a, for the first time, heard that the Yaksa
was no other than one of the direct manifestations which
Pai'eunatman had assumed upon Himself, to bless the
dreaming self by curing the veiy ulcer of its delusions and
the consequent sorrows — the separative ego-sense and
its hollow vanities.

Such a theoretical knowledge as heard from
the mouth of the very Goddess of Learning is called the
Pcuoksa-jridnsL-, and this, in itself, cannot take the listener
to the Supreme Goal of his seeking, namely the Realm of
Perfection that lies beyond the stormy horizons of tears
and trials. Moksa is that State of Perfection where there
are no limitations and where the triple pronged tormenter
ol the mortals, the time-space-casuality, never gains an
entity.

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KENOPANISAD

TIiis state can be ‘achieved’ only when the
disciple, after hearing the declarations of Truth from the
Masters, has brought the very Truth within the frontiers
of his own intimate subjective experience (Apcuvksa-
jnana). On realising that the Self in us is the All-self
pervading everywhere, then alone can we end. once for
all, our sapless delusions and profitless sorrows.

CONDITIONED BRAHMAN

Examples, illustrations, comparisons and
stories are often used in the Upanisacl-s to explain to us
the Inexplicable. It is evident then that none of these
stories or illustrations can be literally true in their ap¬
plication, nor can the Truth entirely be explained away
by any one of them. This being the literary tactics of the
Seers of the Upanisadic Mantraps, every story or illustra¬
tion employed by them needs a deep enquiry, if the
student were to profit fully by them.

In a sense, illustrations are employed in
Vedanta, to serve as idols in Bhakti mcuga. No piece of
stone in any temple can provide for the devotee his life’s
goal of achieving happiness and peace. But without cm
idol self-improvement is impossible. The idol is the means;
self-discovery is the goal. To confuse the means with the
goal is the Grand Trunk Road leading to sorrow. The idol
serves the spiritual aspirant as a spring-board to heave
himself out of saihsdi‘a and plunge into himself. The
Supei - Conscious State, otherwise called the State of
God-Consciousness, is reached when a devotee through
self-sur render or through full discrimination dissociates
himself from his false ego-dream and comes to establish
himself in the true conviction that he is the Atmcm.

This process of detaching oneself away from
Uae unreal and attaehing oneself to the Real is the process
of self-perfection. And this technique can be put into
practice efficiently only by one who has trained his mind
and intellect to run in a direction willed by himself. If one,
who sits up to contemplate upon the glories and beauties

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of God, allows his mind in his seat of meditation to run
off the rails, to ramble into other trackless fields of
wayside bushes, his spiritual pilgrimage shall end only in
sad disaster. The capacity to keep the mind controlled and
to cause it to flow in a chosen direction, called concentra¬
tion. is gained by the aspirants in their devotion at the
Feet of the MCuti or through their deeds and ponderings
over the significances and pregnant suggestions of the
illustrations.

When one has thus gained either through
BhoJcti or by Karma or by jndna paths, sufficient amount
of this sacred wealth of concentration, inner purification,
and Lord’s Grace, he is fit to enter Lhe last lap of the
Journey to Lhe Self. It is at this stage alone, when an
aspirant recognises himself to be nothing other than the
Self, when the Bhakta gets his separative-ego-sense com¬
pletely merged in Lhe consciousness of the presence of the
Lord oi his heart, that the jndni and Lhe BhakLa come to
the plane of the Absolute Perfection, otherwise called God
or Truth. And yet, the seekers following any path can, by
themselves, walk into this last lap of the journey. By long
and sincere pursuit, every aspirant comes to gain a kind
of attachment to Lhe very path he is pursuing. It needs
courage and grit, and often even violence, to haul himself
out of the Divine-Life-rut. into the ampler fields of the Life
Divine! It is Lhe Guru's job to give this fast kick, as it were,
to a heroic seeker in his self- effort.

In tliis connection, we shall have a very prac¬
tical example in Lhe maiden attempt of the present-day
master parachutist! However daring a performer he may
be today, he must have certainly had a JtrsL day and a
Jirst jump. In the instruction room, his instructors must
have explained to him thoroughly, with chalk and black¬
board, the entire science behind Lhe principle of
parachute- jump, so as to convince him intellectually ol
lhe safety of this air adventure. But, for all the trainee’s
theoretical knowledge, his first-hand information of his
comrades who have jumped, and even his actual witness¬
ing of the scene of his own friends jumping, he shall not

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KEN O PA N ISA D

leel confident, at the moment, when fully equipped he is
brought to the trap-door of the plane in the air! That is,
at the moment of the real plunging through, at the first
attempt, at the trap-door, looking down and gazing with
his eyes the distance of the fall, he shall not, if he be
human, find enough courage to let himself slip out
through the open doorway! In all cases the instructor and
his fellow comrades must bundle him up and physically
push him out into the void! And once lie is thus out of
the plane, his class lessons are applied by him, in that
‘unknown world of new experience’, almost instinctively..
After a few repeated chances to live personally this un¬
known and strange experience, the trainee becomes a
self-confident master- parachutist ready at a moment’s
notice to plunge out from the noisy Castles of the Air and
enjoy with effortless ease, the joy of floating about in grace
and poise through Lord’s own space!

A Guru, is the instructor who, out of kindness
and consideration, pushes the trainee, the fit aspirant,
into Uie actual Realm of Experiencing; the act of tin is kind

P us t if accom P^shed during the initiation of the student
in o ie sacred meaning of the Upani$ad Manira-s. The
partisaa-s, as you know, contain the philosophical
portion oi our religion. Theology is a low-roofed world. The

mari e ?,r^ t,0nal U , linkin k r raises its head in a question
■ c , 111 us< Lh at v ery moment theology crumbles

mZU , WreGk * nd min - IL is at such moments that the
H his head above and beyond the rafters

" i r J 1 , n ® s prejudices and intolerances, orthodoxy
of philosoph^* 1 ^ ua ' sanc ^ localities, into the vast skies

jj n the Yaksa story, /nd/'a represents such a fit
student who is being initiated into the Truth by §rt
a, H erSelf ‘ A mere knowledge, that THAT IS
’ cann °t take anybody to the Supreme Goal of
Peace within himself. In this sense the initiation of /ndra
into Bratima Vidya was in no way complete; India gained
only a theoretical knowledge of what Truth is.

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TTT a slid

?rat iN tow sfltfd IUII

Sa Brahmetf houaca,

Brahmano va etad Vijayemahfyadhuam-iti
Taio hciivci uidaftcajccva Brcihmeti,

- She; 3TtP - Brahman ; - thus; 3^Tet ■? - answeiecl

: ^bpjt: ^ - Brahman’s ; - this ; - in the victory ;

you gained greatness ; -thus ; <pt ; ■ then ; ? ^
- only ; l4^r$r<$R - knew (he); ^ - Brahman ; ^ - as.

(1) Preceptor: ‘Brahinanl' She exclaimed, hi
deed, through Brahman’s victory have you gained grea '
ness!’ Then alone he understood that the Adorable Spu i
(Yak$a) was ‘Brahman’.

Even though India had thus only information
about the identity of the Yaksa , the Srutt continues to
explain to us the greatness of such knowledge. Nay, t e
Bpanfsad B$i-s by means of this story, extol Bfahma
Vidya. to such an extent, that they say. that even the
arrogant and conceited Lord of Fire and Lord ot Wind have
come to be recognised, with greater reverence and
respect, even in the very kingdom of the Gods, because,
these Gods of the Elements chanced to come nearest to
the Supreme Truth in Its manifestations.

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KENOPANISAD

cr f^ra^R^rfcriR n

Tasniad va ete deva atitardmivdnyan devan ,
Yad-agnir-Vayur-lndraste Hyenan-nedisLham pasparsuh
te hyenat prathamo viddncakara Brahmeti.

- Therefore; t^cT - these; ^t: - Gods; 3tfttrtr^

- excel; - as it were ; the other; ^ttt- Gods ; ^

- which ; atffcp - Agni ; ^ - Wind ; Fs£ - indm ; % ft - they

alone ; ^7^' this ; - nearing (it); - perceived ;

% ft - they were ; this ; m - the first; (who)

- knew ; sT§r - Brahman ; ?ft - thus.

, _ . < 2) Therefore, verily, these Gods [AgnU Vaiju.

and Indra) excel the other Gods; for they approached the
pint (the manifestation of the Supreme) die nearest and
they were the first to know Him as Brahman.

Not satisfied with this, crude though it may

knnwiPri^ U u 5 ^ modern world of specialised
knowledge, thegruti continues to applaud and extol the

Science of Self-Perfection by declaring that Indi'a had
come to enjoy the honours of the King of even Lord Vayu
and Lord AgnU because of the rare privilege he had of
knowing, for die first time, the identity of Brahn~ian
directly from the Divine Mother, Umd Herself.

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tj wref,

TT#^5mt RKI«d»RS§tfcril?ll

Tasmdd od Indro-'Litaram-ivanyan Devon.

Sa hyencm-nedis{ham pasparsa
sa hyenat prathamo otdancakdra Brahmeti-

tTW^T - Therefore ; Fsh - India ; ^RidrH. - excels;
- as it were ; the rest of the ; - Gods ; fa

- he alone that; - nearing (It); netff - touched

(perceived); w fa - he alone; PTRf- this ; wn - first;

- knew ; - Brahman ; - thus.

(3) And therefore, indeed. Inch'd excels
Gods; for he approached tire Spirit nearest and he w<r
the first to know him as Brahman.

Just as Indra came to excel all other Gods, one who
is a pursuer of Truth and who has come to know
identity of THAT through astudyofthe Snitl-s. shall com
to enjoy an excellence among his fellowmen. In 01 er
come to near THAT, the student will have to reach the
sacred condition of the Indra-sthiti as explained h ere - e
who has a passionate eagerness to understand, hum 3 e
ness and selflessness in his seeking and inexhausti e
faith In the one’s own success, is said to be in the India-
condition. To him Truth shall reveal its Absolute Nature,
at the very mention of it, through a Man oi knowledge, l ie
Sacred Gum.

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KENOPANISAD

The sacred moment of the Vision of Truth is
not long and enduring in the first few instances of ex¬
periencing. They come in “Flashes’, so quick and sudden,
that a meditator, unless he is extremely sensitive and
extraordinary alerL with his sharpened awareness, shall
miss these moments o£ illumination. This idea is em¬
phasised here in the Sruti when she uses these two
illustrations; tire Subjective and the Cosmic:

II

Tasyaisa adesali

yadetad vidyuto uyadyutada 3 llinnyamirnisada 3
ityadht-datvcilam.

~ hs; - this ; sn^T: - illustration (description)

’ is ; - lighting ; - shining like a

lightning , - thus ; - It is appeared within the

twinkling of the eye; ffir - thus (is the); 3rfk ^dH. - of Cosmic
Powers.

(4) 1 his is the description of Brahman (descrip¬
tion by means of an illustration); He shone forth like the
splendour of the lightning; He disappeared within the
twinkling of the eye. This is the comparison of the Brah¬
man with reference to Lhe Devci-s. (His manifestation as
Cosmic Powers).

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Ade£a means an illustration by means of
_ which Brahman is explained. Here is an example which

beautifully explains not only the vividness of the ex¬
perience bul also the Jlashy quickness of the Vision of
Truth which the SadhcUca comes to experience vitally as
his own Self. Also, as in lightning, even if the flash be but
for a split moment, the light of it is so bright that it spreads
all around. Similarly, though the experience be but very
momentary in the final living moment of Truth-con¬
sciousness -- God-consciousness --- the God-man’s ex¬
perience of Truth is not within himself only but also all
around and about him. At the Vision of Truth, nothing
else remains as Known or Urdcnown but THAT! 'Non-dual,.
One Without a Second, Truth alone is, and THAT I AM,’
is the God experience.

Again the illustration of the winking of the eye
shows how natwal and effortless is the final .flight to re
beyond, in meditation. All efforts in meditation aieon y
for the beginner; a swimmer drowns and gulps t own
water only during the few days of his learning to 11
water! Having mastered the art, a rope dancer is bored to
repeat, night after night, his acrobatics and feats o
balance, although he must have had his own falls sn
bruises, thrills and joys, during his attempts at mastei mg
his art. Similarly, a meditator may have a struggle to teej
his mind in balance and in peace during his ear y a
tempts but ere long, as he gains more and more coi
fidence and balance, he shall with a joyous ease floa m
himself, and there, in an effortless effort meet face to
the One, his own-Self.

Not being satisfied with an illustration from the
cosmic, in her kindness, the i$ruti gives to her devo ees
another Ade^a. from the microcosm.

!>*

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KENOPAN1SAD

'£l|;cdh IIMI

AUia.dhyaLm.am yadetad gacchatiua ca manafr
anena caitad-upasmam Ly-abhiksaaihsankalpalz.

3T«T - now then ; sisztw^ (an illustration) from the
microcosm ; a _ this which ; j tasPi ^ - goes as it were;

^ - and ; *R: - the mind ; ^ - by this ; T3^ - this ; 5 *HrHdd

one thinks ; 3 tuW j - off and on ; 'd=hvH: - (speedy) willing
of the mind.

(5) Now as regards this description from the
point of view of His manifestation as Atman within the
body - ‘as one thinks of Brahman by the mind and as
speedily as the mind wills’.

Another illustration to explain the effortless
and quick success with which a true aspirant can come
to realise the truth is given in this mantra. The terms used
m the mantra ‘ gacchatTva’ (as though going out), and
cm idcsnam’ (again and again) in their essence embrace
me theory of Perception according to Vedanta, which we
nad already discussed in our earlier discussions. The
mind ahve with Caitanya, as it were, flows out through
the Incb'iya-s to the objects and there takes the form of
t te objects, when the possessor of the mind gains the
knowledge of the objects.

Again, it is a subjective psychological ex-
jj 0 i ience Llicit liLinicin mind is never £it rest nor ever silent.
Till the mind is doped with 'J'amas in its deep-sleep-state,
the mind is a meaningless hall of revelry and drunken
noise where desire prompted thought- demons dance
their Eternal Death Dances. Silence within is joy Infinite

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and Bliss Absolute; and the Yogin alone knows what it is!
To an ordinary mortal, in his weaknesses, his ‘within’ is
a stormy centre of dreadful commotions and horrible
storms; waves after waves of different thoughts rise up,
lash on each other and die into the very nothingness from
which they rose, and in which they existed!

Supposing a thought-wave has just risen: it
rises, holds itself intact for a split moment and then
perishes. Just as the sea is never without waves, the mind
can never exist without thoughts. The moment a thought-
wave has subsided, instantaneously another rises, which
again perishes only to breed many more in its place!

However infinitesimal it may be, there certainly
must be a period of time which is an interval between two
successive thought- waves. In this interval the previous
drought-wave has set and the new one has not yet risen:
that is the moment when mind is empty of thoughts. And
you all know from our previous discussions that mind is
lout a flow of thoughts and that mind is not there when
thoughts are absent. Also we have found that it is the
conclusion of the ^ruti-s that when mind is not there, the
Yogin shall come to experience Truth.

It becomes now evident how pregnant in sig¬
nificance and import is this innocent looking term in the
mantm namely ‘abhUcsnam'. And such a subtle factor
inside us is taken to serve as an illustration for the Smti
to explain the flashy moments of appearance and disap¬
pearance of Truth. It must be obvious to every one of you
bow inimitably true and perfect a comparison this is to
indicate the sudden and lightning moment of experience
of Truth that one shall gain in one’s early meditation.

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KENOPANISAD

dU dSh dlH,

^ *T %qf^T iprfr ||^ |t

Taddha tadvanam noma, tadvanam- tty upas it a vycuh
sa yaetadeucuh veddbhi hainagm
sanxzQi bhutani sajfivdnchantL

- This is (well known as) ; Tadvanam (the

One who is to be meditated upon) ^FT - in the name of; rfirm
= Tadvana: sfa - thus as ; - is to be worshipped ■

^ - he : ^ - who ; this ; in this way : - knows-'

? ^ - him : - all ; - living beings ; * ] 0 ve

him extremely.

(6) Brahman is well known as Tadvanam, the
Une who is to be worshipped as the Atman of all living
beings So if is to be meditated upon as Tadvana. All love
him who know It thus.

r _ dpanisadTeacher is here giving a method

ol Upasana (method of meditation) for the use of the
lesser students who cannot directly profit by the
philosophic declaration of the Upant^ad so far given.

Nowadays we have very little of the Upctsand-
methods practised in the religious and in the spiritual
fields. But In the Vedic period we find that all Sddhaka-s
were well versed in the methods of Upas and and a
conscious and deliberate attempt was made by the
Upasaka to keep his mind exclusively running in the
contemplation of a given idea and its application to the
Cosmic. When a meditator thus meditates upon a given
idea to the total exclusion of all other ideas, he comes to

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enjoy the fruit oi' his Upcisancl. To a seeker striving Lo
realise LheTruLh declarations in Vedanta, the sacred fruit
of Updsana is the invaluable spiritual treasure that he
comes to earn in the form of his own powers of concentra¬
tion and inner expansion.

At present,very few Hindus practice Updsana.
Instead of the earlier technique of peaceful and intellec¬
tual meditation, nowadays we have a modernised applica¬
tion of the same technique in Bliaktl a path wherein
love-agitations and emotions storm within and bring the
mind Lo a still-state of meditation. Bhakti is the^path
given to us by the genius Vyasa through the Pwana-s.
Till the days of the Purapa-s, the life of the Aryan s was a
constant effort at self-perfection through unbroken intro¬
vert enquiries, conducted in an atmosphere of external
peace and internal intellection.

Just like meditation, devotion also prepares
and purifies a Sddhalca with equal efficiency and makes
him fit for the higher contemplation of God as the Ab-
solute Truth. The lesser evolved aspirants need this ini Lial
training before they can start the practice of deeper
meditation upon the Nameless and the Formless. Here
Sruli, out of Her mercy and Love, is prescribing, for the
lower standard students, a method of meditation to be
practised as a preliminary training. Smfisays that those
who practice Vedanta should meditate upon the Supreme
Reality as Taduana. meaning One deserving to be wor¬
shipped as the All-pervading Spirit.

To a very careful sLudent of this Sruli the
present mantra may read as a contradiction of itself,
since, in the earlier part of the Kenopanisad we have read
an uncompromising and positive condemnation of wor¬
shipping tire deities. But on going deep into the significan¬
ces we can easily understand that what the Sruti
condemned in the earlier part is not Idol worship as such,
but the sad practice of the Sddhaka-s in misunderstand¬
ing the means with the end. Worship and Updsana are
not in themselves an end; they are means for purifying
and perfecting the student’s inner instruments such as

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KEN O PAN I SAD

his mind and intellect: and when once this lias been
accomplished, the student is to make use of the prepared
instruments for the higher purposes of deeper and more
intense meditation. But ordinarily, men who lack dis¬
crimination and renunciation reach the Spiritual path
and in order to trade in their sensuous iovs thev barter
away the golden chances which Upasanci 1 2 provides them
for achieving the highest. ‘Na idam Yadidamupasate ' (Not
this upon which you do your Upascinci) is only a warning
to those who perform the upasand with no other idea than
the finite joys or rewards of higher world or of some paltry
gains in this very life.

‘As you think, so you become.’ is an eternal
principle and all religions in the world work upon this
broad principle in Nature. Here Sruti also gives us a clue.
He who meditates upon the Lord as a benevolent power
pervading everywhere and vitalising every being, such an
upasakcc becomes the very thing he meditates upon, and
thus, comes to enjoy the love and adoration of his entire
generation.

1. Meditation.

2, Seeker

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SELF-PERFECTION TECHNIQUE

< qt ^tfcT, cf
sfT# cfl^r <T <i4Pm<Hs^Pd II Vs II

Upani$adani bho brublti, u/c£a £a L/pantsad
brdfimim odea £a L/panisadam-ab/iImefi.

- (the saving knowledge of) Upanisad ; -

Sir - tell (me), (Leach mej ; - thus ; 3tHT ; - has been

said ; % - to you ; - the saving knowledge of

Brahman ; TR ft - to you - that knowledge; a^T

we have imparted ; ?fct - thus.

(7) Disciple; Sir, teach me th,e Saving
Knowledge. Preceptor; The Saving Knowledge has been
imparted to you. Verily, we have imparted the Saving
Knowledge of Brahman to you.

This is not a question from one who has not
understood the Upanisad. given out by his Guru. In its
technique it may be said that this is a literary method
employed in those times to indicate that the sastra-s have
been completely dealt with and that nothing remains to
be added. Also, it shows how the student is anxious to
hear more and more from the Gum regarding any other
point that the teacher might, probably, have reserved, to
be added as a warning orcomplimentary item of informa¬
tion, sacred and unavoidable, for the real and complete
understanding of die Upanisad-s.

Again, this question shows that the student
meant to ask about the necessary Yoga technique or
about the inner purifications without which, he had
heard, a correct apprehension of the Upanisad state¬
ments was not possible and much less could he have a

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KENOPANISAD

lull inward personal experience of the deep-sealed Truth
and Godliness in him. This interpretation is supported by
the following passage of the Upanisad which explains the
Tapas and the practices necessary for tile right and full
understanding of the Upanisad Mantra-s.

<t)±TRi illdkll,

Tasyai Lapo damah karmeti pratistha
Vedahsaruahgc7nisatyam-dyatanam.

- of it ; tPT: - austerity ; py= - restraint ; wA -
(dedicated) work ; ifa - thus ; yfrer - (are the) foundation ,
%Pt: - the Vecla-s ; - are the limbs (of It); yyty - Truth

is ; atiiitHH.- (its) abode.

(8) Austerity, restraint and dedicated work -
these are the foundations of IL - the Saving Knowledge of
the Upanisads. The Veda-s are its limb and Truth is its
abode.

The teacher had already, in the previous
Mantra, said that he declared the entire Upanisad. One
has real ly to wonder why. even after a declaration so open,
as that with which She had concluded, should the Smd
now add more and more Mantra-s?This is no literary fault
in an Upanisad drafted and couched in a conversational
style.The disciple had asked, if you remember, ‘Sir, teach
me the Saving Knowledge’. These words in the mouth of
the disciple can have two implications: (1) It directly
implies a demand for a clear declaration from the Teacher
that the Upants&d had actually ended and (2) it indirectly

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implies also that, the student wants some more informa¬
tion regarding the technique of Self-Perfection* Although
the teacher had amply explained the identity of the
Director of the sense-organs, mind and intellect, the great
Master had not detailed die method by which the deluded
can come to realise this Supreme Knowledge,

This query of how one can realise the Perfec¬
tion pointed out by the Scripture is the typical spirit
exclusive to the Hindu Philosophy. No oUier race in the
world has developed a culture of thought so complete and
perfect as the Aryan grandsires who are the Seers of the
most comprehensive, the most rational, the most tolerant
Religion of True Love, as expounded in Vedanta.

To the thinkers of the Aiyan Stock, Philosophy
is not a mere view of life; to die practical men of life and
action, it was a mere dreamy Utopia and a womanish
game of meddling at emotional and intellectual
embroidery. Even today, to the West, Philosophy is only
a view of life - , and as such, diey have no fundamental
values to preach. Generation after generation, the
thinkers of the West had to change their idealistic view of
life according to the spirit of the age and the systems that
came to govern it.

To our forefathers, Philosophy was not only a
mere view of life but it was at once a way of life. The very
name with which In Sariiskrt we understand Philosophy,
is Daj'Sana, a word which has come from a root meaning
‘To Know 1 . That is, however subtle the Truth may be, to
the practical men of life, the Seers, a mere dream-ideal
was no fulfilment of dieir honest cravings. Whenever they,
through intellect, had to determine the glories of an ideal,
they at once took it up and applied it in practical life as
a principle to live. So too. even they contemplated upon
Truth and came by the principle of God. They were not
satisfied by merely getting at a Symbol or an Idol to
worship, to bow_to and too kneel at! Realisation is the veiy
watch-word ofAiyan Sandtana Dhai'ma. Poetry writing or
word-coining prose-poetry or dexterous word-play were
all to them Loo childish a game to play. Their culture was

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KEN0PAN1SAD

the culture of Life and not a tradition ol dreams.

Thus, there is a wealth of significances im¬
plied. though unsaid, in the words of the disciple who was
a perfect representative of the Upanisadic Age. Naturally,
the Teacher, understanding this noble Aryan thirst, not
only to know the ideal but to Realise, to live and to become
the Ideal himself most sympathetically explains the very
corner-stones ol our ancient Sanatana Dhcu'ina in this
Mantra.

I he Absolute Truth. In the modern vocabulary,
the God-principle says the Upanisad , rests, as it were,
upon austerity, sell- restraint and dedicated selfless
wo. k .That these are unavoidable values to be lived by
one before that subject can be conditioned sufficiently for
a peifect tuning up with the subtlest of the subtle, the
■ iu i, is a fact that can be known even by a man of
aver age intelligence. No religion in the world sanctions or
encourages anything other than these divine values, if
today we are living certain wrong ideals contrary to these
c rec pnnciples ol austerity, sell-restraint and selfless
era, (service) they indeed are the very serpents that
mti hie sources of our modern life, individual, com-
, at tonal and international sorrows and tragedies
thpArt da ? Can a b f direcL, y b'aced to this senile spirit of
fr ° m wh . lch these noble qualities, sustainers of
, been thoughtlessly eschewed with a
d deliberateness, almost amounting to madness!

refuse UIlless 116 ^ as the courage to

. ' . . :t e eourtings ofhis mind, cannot progress

in the spiritual path. Religion is not meant for a feminine

r loH 1 , W ]° h f S not goL Lhe courage and the spirit of
eedom to stand away from the mad wooings of the toy
king, the mind, in the inner world ofhis dreams. He alone
can stride forward to schedule, on the noble path of
ruth, who has a capacity to say a strong ‘No’ to Lhe
childish demands of the mind, ever to run about and play
in the scorching heat of temptations, amidst the sandy
dirt-heap ol its sensuous objects! Hence, lhe insistence
by Lhe Sruti for practising austerity. Sruti goes to the

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extent of giving austerity (Tapas) the status of being the
very foundation for the temple of Truth.

If austerity, means a physical denial of the
Indriya-s coming into contact with their objects, with low
animal-appetites and delusory hopes of getting thereby
some passing joy. Dama (Restraint] means controlling
and choking, at its very source, the annihilating flood of
the desire-lava. Both being but forms of self-control,
clusterLiy is physical while restraint is psychological In
short, without a certain amount of Self- Control, Self-Per¬
fection is impossible; it is as futile as the blind man
yearning to have at least one look at his only son!

When the physical and the psychological per¬
sonality in an aspirant is thus purified, ennobled and
divinised, then Sruti demands of him selfless dedicated
work. ‘If what you say be true,’ all of you may wonder
‘what exactly is then the meaning of the Sruti VdJzya. that
‘Karma’ is one of the corner-stones of the Absolute
T ru th?'

In BrcOvnci Vidyd, Karma means the sacrificial
rites or the total spiritual sadhana-s. Worship, prayer,
satsamga. Jap a, dhyana and such other daily practices
of a devotee all come within the term Kcu’ma. And here
the Sruti advises all the sincere pursuers oi Truth that
they should not indulge in worship and prayer with a view
to gaining an immediate relief from sorrow or a future
treasure of wealth.

When devotion is practised in a spirit of sellless
'Gopi-love', die Divine shall manifest to play in and
around us and steal and eat away the cream of impres¬
sions we have churned out from the milk of our Real
Nature!

When one has practised with sincerity, faith
and honesty of purpose, both the outer austerity and the
inner restraint, he is fit for Kearney he alone is fit for
Kannci, a true Brahmin is he. And, when such a fit Kai'ma
Yogin applies himself, with true devotion and per¬
severance, to any one of the four Main Paths of Sddhrina

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KENOPANISAD

advised and encouraged by the inimitable Religion, Hin¬
duism, he shall develop himself into a fit student for the
early meditations, he shall come to recognise, realise, and
live the Truth that he is.

This mantra, though almost the last one, is at
once the only mantra dedicated in the entire Upanisad to
prescribe the technique by which the Philosophic con¬
tents of the Upani$ad-s may be practised as a way of life.
Hence, every word of it is so pregnant with suggestions
and overfilled with significances, that at each intellectual
thrust at it, it pours forth its precious contents of direc¬
tions.

Thus, the man£i*a says that the Veda-s are all
Its limbs. In the Absolute Truth, limbs cannot be, since,
thereby the Absolute would become conditioned by the
name and the form. Thus. Sruti means - all the six
supplementary Veda-s are a necessary support for a
student who is seeking to realise within himself the Self
that is die theme of the Upanisad'S. In the modern
vocabulary uie may say that Self-Perfection is difficult and
would be a miracle if It were to come at the end of diligent
and sincere life-long practices, if the realised saint were
to be illiterate, uncultured and uneducated. In short,
what we, as seekers of Truth, must understand from this
mantra is that no education is a waste, no bit of knowledge
redundant, no experience superfluous but that they all
can be intelligently made to serve our purpose in our
pilgrimage to Truth.

And lastly, volumes can be written about the
inexpressible expression ‘SATYAMAYATANAM’, meaning
that Trafhs abode is Truth, Without a Hcuiscandra -like
vow of truthfulness, no Sadhaka can enter the sanctum
sanctorum of the Truth. If a Brahmin , meaning a Sad-
haka, fails in his alignment with his motives, thoughts
and actions, that is. if his motives are false to his
thoughts, and his thoughts again belie his actions - such
Brahmins are, viewed from the heights of Upani$adic
perfections, mere cdijddla-s and they shall not enter the
Temple of Truth

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T^cIHej qgHSoH

SRrf ^ ^ ilftlfdWftT ijRlRvttallcf IIS II

HlfcT 11

II 3^ ^TTfrT: ?TTf% : 7Tlf% : II

Yo va etam-euarh uedapahatya pdpmdnam
anante suarge lokejyeye pratitisthati pratitisthatiti.
Ill Caturthah Khapdah
Om Santih! Sdntth! Sanlth!

^ - Verily he who ; - this ; Mhh, _ thus * ^

knows ; sttwc^t - destroying ; hi'-hmh, - sin : 3TT% - limitless
(boundless); TT?f - heavenly ; - realm (Bliss); ' m

the Highest Blissful; wield'd Id - (he) is established ; TrRrRrsftt
- is established (certainly); - thus.

OM Peace ! Peace ! Peace!

(9) Verily he who knows It thus, destroys sin
and is established in Brahman, the Boundless, the
Highest and the Blissful — Yes, he is established in it.

The concluding mantra of Kenopanisad con¬
tains a vehement assertion, from its Seer, that he who
has Known the theme so far discussed, shall have
reached the Supreme State of Perfection. It is the Vedantic
principle endorsed by similar repeated assertions in the
various Upanisad-s that "To know Brahman is to become
Brahman". It is in the ignorance of our Real Nature that

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KENOPAN1SAD

we have come lo live Lhe agonising days of our choking
limitations and despicable impotencies. We have come to
Lears and sobs because we have ‘thought’ Lo have lost
ourselves. This being merely a delusion we have only to
re-understand that Lhe imagined loss is false, and we
shall at once regain our Real Nature, the Bliss Absolute.
Knowledge alone is the cure for Lhe ailment of Ignorance.
1 he discovery of the ‘rope’ from the ‘serpent’ is the most
potent charm to life from the poison of its ‘bite’ in dark¬
ness!!

A woman once ’thought’ she lost her necklace
and started searching over the house and the neighbour¬
ing courtyard. The more she sought the more desperate
she became and more poignant her sorrow. IL is then,
when she was prostrate with despair that her lord entered
the room. She poured out her story of woe; but the
husband all of a sudden blinked at her and asked her,
what is there on your own neck?’ The woman, because
she had complete faith in her lord, believing him to be
honest, slowly lifted her searching fingers Lo her neck,
and Lo! the moment the tip of her fingers touched one of
the beeds of the necklace, she gained Lhe knowledge that
L ie necklace was with her and with this knowledge site
regained her lost condition of bliss and joy.

The necklace was never made new; it was
always there. The misunderstanding that it was not with
her had caused all Lhe sorrows Lo the woman. On redis-
cov ci ing that Lhe necklace wcis never (ostall her agitations
subsided and she regained Lhe condition of sdhti in which
she was before die tragic moment when the
misunderstanding arose in her mind. On the removal of
her misunderstanding, which is the same as saying 'on
recognising herself to be the same woman complete with
her necklace , she becomes the woman she was before Lhe
moment of her misunderstanding.

God though we are, the Soul in us has come
to dream of a misunderstanding that It is a Jiva, and
believing Itself to be a Jiva , It comes to suffer the agita¬
tions and sorrows of having lost Its God-hood! The pad of

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167

the Siva, a Sadgura, enters the life of the JLua, and when
he points out to the JidathaL the God-hood is not lost but
is ever there, resplendent in Its own pristine glory. Line
JLua at first believes the master’s words, in his devotion
and faith to Lhe teacher, and then later on seeks for
himself and discovers Lhe God-hood that ever lies within
himself as Himself. With Lhe knowledge of the Self he
becomes Lhe Self.

It is this principle of Self-Knowledge, which is
Lhe very fundamental basis of Vedanta, that is being
hinted at in Lhe concluding stanza of Kenopanisad, and
no one who has understood it would dare to disagree with
(lie view that this stanza is one of the noblest ones in the
entire Upanisadic literature. With a correct under¬
standing of what we have been so far discussing, if reader
were to go back into the very body of the mantra , he can
for himself discover the beauties and Lhe secret charms
of this mantra, in itself a Divine Damsel of Truth,

i Rfaqrat ii

3% 7Tif%:! TTTRh! TTTfrT:!

OM Saha ndvaviu .. Saha nau bhunaktu. Saha uTryaih karauauahaL
Tqjosvi ad uadhitam-asLii. Ma uiduis&vahai.

OM SantihJ Santihl Sdntih!

3S1 TliRi ; Peace be with as from heave nig wraths;

Tirf^T ; Peace lye until us from phenomenal cruelties;
TTTfTf ; Peace be with us from Ixidily obstacles.

OM Sanlih! San till! Santih!

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KENOPANJSAD

APPENDIX I

RISE AND FALL OF MAN

The OM in the chart (see page lix) represents
the Supreme Reality, the Pure Existence-Bliss, OM indi¬
cates the Truth which is the theme of Upanisad-s. This is
the source of all life. It is Centre of Life in each one of us,
and as such it is the Unchanging Eternal Truth in us -
the "Real I" in all of us.

We, from that state of Transcendental Glory,
from that Nature of Knowledge-Bliss, have fallen down to
become Man — the limited, ignorant, sad mortal. How
this seemingly "fall" has happened is a necessary
knowledge so that we may know our Paths to return to
our own Home.

Vedanta does not accept any real "fall" in Man
from the Reality. The Religion of Upani$ad-s is never tired
of repeating the assertion "Thou art That". And yet you
and 1 are feeling our separate existence, our weakness,
oui sorrows and our limitations. The duality about us
always brings bitter experiences to us. The phenomenal
world is evident and every minute, it is experienced by us
in our daily life. But Vedanta asserts that this seeming
world of sense-objects is not Real. This is only a finite
appearance. It can be ended. The world is seemingly real
to us just as the snake* is real to the deluded, although
there is really only a 'rope'. The ghost is real to the
Ingh tened in his ignorance of the post which he mistook
lor the ghost. Mirage can never be; even when we "see" the
mirage, desert only is there.

Thus, the Eternal Sal-Cit-Ananda alone is the
world and the ego- centric-idea of our separatist existence
is only a super- imposition upon Truth. They are all false
Plurality is a sad delusion. The ONE alone is Real and
True.

Even so, we today, in our ignorance of the Real,
in our Auidya (Nescience), live in our own delusions. How
did this delusion rise up? This ought to be the natural

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APPENDIX I

169

question now in our minds. An attempt to explain this
stumbling doubt in the minds of the Seekers has been
made in Vedanta by the introduction of the term Mdyd.

Mayci is defined as an inexplicable Power of the
Supreme which is in That, as inseparable as heat from
fire, just as we cannot have fire as a "thing-in-itself, after
removing all the heat from it, nor can heat have any
existence if the fire-element is removed from it. So too
Maya is a Power inherent in the Supreme. Eire is heat:
heat is fire.

it is possible that we may have a superficial
understanding of this term, a growing suspicion that
Maya is^a tricky word introduced by the Vedantin-s in
their Maya. Vdda to veil the main issues of a pointed
question and to confuse the questioner with a mysterious
nothing. But such a feeling can rise up only out oi our
own ignorance of the language; for the Samskrt, the word
Maya, in its etymological meaning, stands for "that which
is not" (Yo Md Sd Mdyd). it is Mdyd, a power in our mind
to get itself deluded, that creates for us the delusion oi
the snake-in-the-rope, of the ghost-in-the-post, of the
murige-in-the-desert.

The famous story of Somadatta's father in
Vedanta is often quoted to explain the Mayci in us.
deluding us. as it were, with our own active co-operation
and sympathy! Let us examine the story.

One newly initiated anchorite, during a
pilgrimage, felt tired and weary, because of the hot day
and he burning sun. Seeing a shaded arbour near the
Ganges banks, lie took shelter under it, to rest. There was
a narrow piece of rock upon which he stretched and
composed himself to a restful siesta. As he was dozing oil.
his attention was attracted by two youngs girls who had
come Lo the Ganges to collect water. They filled their pots
and wenL away but the vision generated the following lines
of thought in the half-sleepy anchorite: "Supposing, 1
marry one of them! Then I shall have a liLLle house with
three spacious rooms. And 1 shall be a veiy severe and
grave husband too! Working in my own fields I shall live

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KENOPANISAD

a happy life of contentment and joy! Then the first

born.Yes, I will have a fat, beautiful son. Of course, I

must name him Somadatta. And we shall all three sleep
in the same bed! But is there space enough for my son?
‘ Devi, please give some more space for our son, otherwise
he might fall down.’ 'Lord, how can I move?' answers she,
To which side? You move a bit to your end.’ ‘All right’, he
says.And splash!."

Poor Somadatta's father moved a little towards
his side and the stone was narrow. He lost his balance
and rolled down into the Ganges. Awakened, the
anchorite swam out and reached the shore.

Now, friends, what made the anchorite fall?
And after his awakening, where should he go to regain

his young wife and child?

The poor Brahmacai'in created the world of
Somadatta in himself, and identifying completely with it,
came to live the dream-life as though ‘real’, and suffered
the fall.

So too, the Pure Eternal Self we are. The Self
dream has forgotten Itself and dreams of Its own
SarhsarcL Wake up. Roll out of this narrow plane-of-false-
identifications, dip into the cool Ganges water - the Sruti-s
and get awakened. End the undivine dream at one
stroke.

The power in Somadatta's father, with which
he "lived" his_ domestic life and ultimately fell into the
Ganges is Mayo: that which is not" in his own mind
existing as its own nature.

Maya, is manifested in the world as three dis¬
tinct Eternal Qualities: The Soft on (unactivity), the Rajas
(activity) and the Tomas (inactivity). All these three
Qualities are ever in a state of admixture. Their propor¬
tions, of course, vary irom individual to individual and in
the same individual from time tp time.

When the Supreme Reality, the Eternal Intel¬
ligence gets reflected in Pure Sattua-Guna-Pradhdria
Maya, we get a very distinct and clear reflection of the

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APPENDIX I

171

Supreme in it: this is Lhe God-Principle. And Lhe dimmer
reflection of "SaUua mixed with Rcyas and Tomas"
(Malina-SaLlva-Pradhana May a) is the ego-centric Jivci.
the individual mortal.

Please refer to Lhe Chart* The God-Principle
manifests itself around us in Lhe world outside as three
main accomplishments. We observe that at every moment
things are being created and born, at every moment there
is destruction and death and between these two points,
of an unknown beginning and an equally uncertain end.
we also watch things being maintained. In order to
facilitate Lhe common man to grasp these Lhree Powers
manifest in him, we have them represented as Lhe Creator
(Lord Brahma) Lhe Maintainer (Lord Idsnu) and the An-
nihilator (Lord Sloci).

To create a pot. the potter must have a pre¬
knowledge of what he is going to make; similarly Lhe
Creator ought to ‘know’ what he is to create. We have thus
Lord Bralvna married Lo Sri ScwcisuaLl the Goddess oi
learning and knowledge. In order to maintain ourselves,
we need the ‘capacity to maintain’. A pauper cannot be
Lhe head of Lhe family and maintain the family. Thus, we
have £rLLak$my the Goddess of wealth and plenty, as Lhe
consort of Lord Visna. Similarly. Lord &iva cannot carry
on Lhe function of annihilation unless there is for Him a
Held of finite destructible objects. Without the
phenomenal world, we cannot have the manifestation ol
the Ruclra - Might. So Lord Sica is ably supported by His
devoted partner. Goddess Umd — Lhe Prakrti

Even when the Trinity is thus shown to be
three distinct Divine Personalities, it is also shown clearly
that they are distinct and separate Divine Powers. The
oneness of them is Lhe soulful song in our Pm anas. But
this subtle song is heard only by the most attentive, and
Lhe most cultured.

So then, whatever be Lhe seeming plurality
among our Gods, there is but one and the same God-Prin-

* on PSj@y< 3 ^hijiir Research Institute. Digitized by eGangotri

descent of

172

mm

MAY A

TOSSING POWER ij

rVkKSEPAl V £iUNG POWER
LAYARANA i

CREATOR

GRAMMA

NOURFSNER ANN

vi$nu mah

DON'T

KNOW

HAVE NO

E * PERiENCE

CAN T

UNDERSTAND

OATTATREVA

HEARING REFLECTION
SR A V ANA f, MAN AN A)

SarasvatF

THE UN MANIFEST

DURGA

ORGANS OF
PERCEPTION

LIGHT SOUND SMELL TASTE TOUCH

HANDS FEET

SPEECH GENE- EVACU
RATION ATiON j

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i

KENOPANISAD

*

173

ciple. In fact, individually each of them is helpless, and
unless there is creation the other two functions are
impossible. Without Visn.u , the others are impotent. If
Siuci-taflua 1 does not function, the Creator or the Maln-
tainer cannot come into play. Only as a well-organised
team can the three work together and manifest themsel¬
ves. One God-Principle alone exists. Plurality is a
delusion, a false understanding.

If the reflection of Truth in Pure Sattva-Maya
is die God- Principle, the broken, dim reflections of the
same Truth Supreme in a medium of Impure Sattva-
Maya is the individual Ego-Centre, the Samsaj'in. Rajas
is activity and Tomas in inactivity. This medium of reflec¬
tion producing the Jiua-dream is something like a cup of
cow-dung water reflecting the sun. The reflection cannot
be as pure and steady, as clear and true to the original
as the reflection of the same sun in a cup of pure
crystal-clear steady water. How this dimness and agita¬
tion came to be, is represented on the right hand side of
the chart.

The Tamos quality acts in us in two distinct
ways. It produces the mental agitations. Viksepa and the
veiling of Truth Auararia. Let us examine what these are.
Remember, these two Powers are not independent, each
depends upon the oilier. The VUtsepa creates the veil and
the A uarana creates the agitation.

The Veiling-Power of the 7'amas in us plays in
three distinct negativities such as (a] I don’t know, (b) 1
can’t understand and (c) I have not experienced. These
three negative-concepts in us are removed by the three
main Vedanta practices: Hearing (Sravaya), Reflection
(Manana) and MeditaLion (Nididhydsana).

The first of the three main tragedies, born oi
the Veiling-Power in us, is that left to ourselves, few of us
have Lhe capacity independently to observe, analyse and
conclude that there is a God-Principle behind the ever-
changing flux in the phenomenal world. ‘I don’t know,’ is
the grossest state of Aucvaya. This is removed by

I The Siua-Frinoiple

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APPENDIX I

‘Hearing', directly from the Great Masters, or indirectly
through the Great Scriptures.

When we have removed this negativity, a sub¬
tler one rises up into prominence, viz., "I can’t under¬
stand". This is surmounted by intellectual analysis and
reasoning, when the seeker comes to feel that in and
through the endless names and forms, is running a
golden-chord of unity, a sense of Oneness, the Atman.
But often students of philosophy at this stage learn to
devalue their own intellectual awareness of this change¬
less Truth behind the medley of life as not a fact, since it
is ‘not experienced' by them. This Avai-ana manifestation
In us is removed by the process of practice prescribed for
the Vedanta-Sadhaka called Meditation. Meditation is a
process of inner Self-discipline by which through con¬
stant practice the seeker learns the art of keeping his
mind at one and the same chosen line of thinking to the
strict and severe exclusion of all other dissimilar currents
of thoughts. Ultimately the Sadhaka succeeds in bringing
his mind to a complete stillness as in sleep, in which,
unlike in sleep, he has his entire awareness brightly lit
up and kindling in his bosom. At this moment of Bliss
and Knowledge, called the Savikalpa Samddhi, the Scicl-
hak.a comes to cast off the last traces of the Avcwana in
his inner composition.

We have had so long a discussion of one of the
manifestations of Tamas . The other is the agitations of
the mind called Viksepa. From this Viksepa arises the
Unmanifest world - the subconscious and from it the
grosser emphasis and assertion of the Manifest, the world
of the Five Elements. The interplay of the Elements
produces the names and forms of objects including the
sense of Knowledge and the senses of Action, which
together constitute the sad, tearful, ineffectual mortal,
the helpless Samsaj'in.

With this, the Fall of Man (the airow on the lejt
side in the Cluut) is compjete. From being the Eternal,
Immortal, All-full (nitya, suddha, mukta, paj-cundtman).
Pure consciousness,, due to the Play of Maya, like
Somadatta's father, we too have come to feel our own

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KENOPANISAD

«

175

limitations and live in our unbuilt huts with our unmar¬
ried wife and unborn son.

Ved&nta is not a pessimistic philosophy to
leave its conclusions with a mere theory of the Fall. This
very theory has been devised to explain the non-existent
dreamfall so that the faithful may be shown a way to wake
up and realise their own True and Eternal Nature, the
OM.

All the different Religions of the world and all
the different Yoga-s in Hinduism, however distinct they
might seem to be in their approaches, all of them, with
one voice, insist that man must learn to control his
sense-organs of knowledge and action. Self-control,
without and within, is the one point on which all sing in
melodious agreement.

So long as traces of ’delusion’ are in us, we
shall have desires rising up in us. They whip the Indriya-s
to roam out among their respective Sense- objects. With
‘knowledge’ alone can we end our ’Ignorance’.

The knowledge of our Real Nature, the realisa¬
tion of the 'Sivo'ham' state, the recognition that ‘I am
Chinmaya’, the knowledge that I am not this ‘name and
form personality,’ but a homogeneous mass of Pure Con¬
sciousness, alone can end our Ignorance (Avidya), the
delusion (Bhr&nti), the source of all the desire eruptions.
But Pure Knowledge is our Eternal Svarupa, and thus, it
is not a state to be created. We have only to end the
clouding, confusing, deluding ignorance, and when the
clouds move off, the sun hidden behind them appears in
all its brilliance.

This removal of Nescience is through Hearing,
Reflection and Meditation, and we have already seen how
the Veiling Power of Tamas acts upon us and how each
of its strategy is met and defeated by the VedSnta Sad-
hana, Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana (see chart).

Thus, by the time of student reaches the
Manana-state, he gains more and more of an intellectual
understanding about the futility of seeking seeming hap-

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APPENDIX I

176

piness and peace in the world of sense-objects. Here
starts the real control of the sense-organs. And when be
gains slowly a little of sense-control, the agitations of the
mind created by his contact with the world of sense-ob¬
jects are reduced. This enables him to gain a thousand¬
fold joy, peace and tranquillity within and consequently
his meditation-flights reach higher levels and his con¬
centration becomes more pointed and firm. Hand in hand
the team works: the more the Avcu'aryz is controlled, the
more the ViJcsepa is stilled: the more the tossings and
agitations are pacified, the easier the veil gets rolled off.
In course of time, in proportion to the intensity of AJb-
hyasa, the twin gruesome manifestations of Tamos are
both completely controlled, and we shall then have Sub¬
limated the Rajas -Tamos defects in us, with consequent
gain of Sattva in us.

As we hear, reflect and meditate upon the Sruti
Mantra-s (Ihe scriptures), the disturbances and the
"muddiness" from our mental lake are eliminated.
Naturally the Pure Sun-of-Knowledge, the Eternal Truth,
gets reflected clearly. The clearest and the truest reflec-
tion_of the Eternal Truth is the God-Principle. Therefore,
a Sadhaka slowly comes to manifest in himself Divinity
and Godliness at this stage. Miracles are easy to him.
Grace is naturally to him. Kindness becomes his instinct.
Love is his very breath. Mercy is his essence. Truthfulness
becomes his very trait, and Lordliness his birthright. In
short, a God man on earth, he lives, poor or starving,
suffering or in health, laughing or weeping, to rule, guide
and enlighten.

At this stage if he is yet steady in his Sddhana,
and can still maintain his Divine urge to know and to
become, if he is dispassionate enough to reject and
renounce even the powers and joys of Godhood, he,
during the highest flights of his deepest meditation, wafts
even beyond the yonder summits of Sattva, and becomes
Sattvdtita or one who has transceded even the Gods. He
experiences in himself the Supreme Truth and becomes
THAT. And having reached OM and merging in OM, he

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KENOPANISAD

becomes OM. He gains the Parcimam Padaih - the Finale,
the Goal of Perfection, the Bliss Absolute.

There in Him rests all. The Universe has only risen
from Him: in Him it exists; towards Him It moves; into Him
it finally ( must enter and afterwards become Him, the one
Eternal Truth Absolute.

The arrow on the left (see chart), shows the direc¬
tion of the Fall of Man from OM to delusion. The arrow on
the right shows the Ascent of Man from the vales of Lears
to the state of Sat-CiL-Ananda, the Self.

Thus, without the control of the Indriya-s, no
spiritual growth is ever possible. And no control is effective
until we start the hear-reflect-meditate schooling. Study
the Upanisad-s. Independently think over them. Meditate
regulaily. Hand in hand, learn to control your senses,
through a control of the desires. Intelligently pursue Sad-
harm. Success shall be yours. "Here and Now" is the
assurance repeatedly given by all the scriptures. With
patience and faith ‘Serve. L oue. Purify. Meditate and
Realise Truth' in this uery birth.

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